Throughput

Throughput in robotic-manufacturing context is the rate at which a production line produces units — typically expressed as units per hour, units per day, or units per shift. Distinct from cycle time (time-to-produce-one-unit), production volume (units already produced to date), and shipment volume (units already delivered to customers). All four are routinely conflated in humanoid manufacturing coverage.

The distinction matters because throughput claims in physical-AI coverage often skip the conditions. Figure's reported "one robot per hour" off the BotQ line is throughput at a specific stage of the BotQ ramp at single-shift operation — not annualized capacity, not yield-adjusted output, not shipment rate. Multiply by single-shift hours; multiply by first-pass yield; subtract rework. The strict-vs-loose framing applies: a throughput number without specifying yield and shift assumptions is the loose version of the claim.