Agility Robotics, founded in 2015 in Salem, Oregon, has been developing Digit through several generations. Previous models have accumulated over 65,000 hours of operation with clients such as GXO, Schaeffler, Amazon, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. Following three years of using Digit 4, the feedback from these clients has informed the development of Digit 5, which aims to overcome physical barriers separating robots from employees.
Digit 5 introduces a new safety architecture comprising three devices. It can detect nearby individuals by combining proprietary algorithms with various sensors, autonomously reacting to avoid them, stop, or assume a sitting position. Additionally, visual and auditory signals alert people to the robot’s movements, while an independent safety controller triggers the appropriate response when someone is at a dangerous proximity.
Agility Robotics claims that Digit 5 is the first humanoid robot to pass an independent evaluation following the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) industrial safety standards on a customer’s production line. The company is also the inaugural partner for NVIDIA’s newly introduced Halos for Robotics safety platform, utilizing the IGX Thor infrastructure and Halos Core.
It is crucial for humanoid robots to operate safely around people and assets to transition from prototypes to large-scale industrial deployments, as explained by NVIDIA’s Deepu Talla. Furthermore, Agility Robotics aligns with developing standards for industrial mobile robots and humanoids.
Digit 5’s legs are designed to withstand repeated lifting tasks, capable of lifting up to 22.7 kg repeatedly, 40% more than Digit 4. In compliance with OSHA regulations, Digit 5 can handle lifting operations previously done by a human operator. It features a new battery providing 90 minutes of operation after a nine-minute charge, offering a 10:1 autonomy-to-charge ratio and functioning for over twenty hours in a twenty-four-hour period.
Digit 5 is designed to manage various operations within a facility, including unloading goods, feeding machines, packaging, quality control, and palletizing before shipping. The Agility Arc platform enables Digit to coordinate transfers with autonomous mobile robots, conveyors, and facility management systems to monitor availability, productivity, and incident response times.
At GXO’s Flowery Branch site, Digit 4 successfully handled over 100,000 bags with approximately 98% accuracy, as per Agility Robotics. The assembly of Digit takes place at Agility Robotics’ RoboFab facility in Salem, Oregon, which has the capacity to produce up to 10,000 Digit robots annually with a staff of over 500 individuals.
Agility Robotics plans to introduce Digit to markets outside the US and Canada, starting in the European Union and the UK once Digit 5 receives CE certification and other required approvals. An early access program is anticipated in the first half of 2027, followed by general availability by the end of 2027 for production, storage, and distribution operators.
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