# Helix Loads the Dishwasher

September 03, 2025

Helix, Figure’s [Vision Language Action (VLA) model](/content/news/helix/index.html), has shown it can adapt to dramatically different real-world challenges with nothing more than new data. After [folding laundry](/content/news/helix-learns-to-fold-laundry/index.html) and [rearranging packages](/content/news/scaling-helix-logistics/index.html), Helix is now taking on another everyday task: loading a dishwasher.

At first glance, loading a dishwasher sounds like a simple task - just pick up each object and place it in the dishwasher. But in reality, dishwasher loading bundles together many difficult problems in robotics: dishes often need to be isolated from cluttered stacks, reoriented, or handed off between two arms working in sync; slippery or fragile items demand fingertip-level precision; and dishwasher racks provide only centimeter-scale tolerance for error. On top of that, every load is different - novel objects, messy starting states, and unexpected collisions mean the system must constantly adapt and recover while maintaining robust performance.

## **Key Results**

The same Helix model that folded towels and sorted packages can now load a dishwasher. No new algorithms, no special-case engineering, just new data.

With that, Helix learned to:

- Singulate stacked plates and load them in order.
- Pick up a glass with one hand, reorient it, and place it carefully with the other.
- Adjust its strategy to account for messy starting configurations.
- Recover gracefully from errors like misgrasps or collisions.

## **Why This Matters**

Dishwasher loading, package logistics, and towel folding may seem worlds apart, yet Helix handles all with the same general-purpose architecture. This represents another step toward scalable humanoid intelligence: a single system that can incrementally learn new capabilities with additional data, building toward broader applicability without special-case engineering.