Agility Robotics Details Digit Upgrades Focused on Safety, Autonomy, and Warehouse Integration

Agility Robotics has announced a series of upgrades for its bipedal warehouse robot, Digit, aimed at accelerating commercial deployment and enhancing its ability to work alongside humans and other automation systems. The updates, detailed ahead of the ProMat supply chain show, focus on improved safety, longer operational autonomy, and tighter integration with existing warehouse technology.

Enhanced Safety for Collaboration

A key focus of the update is bolstering Digit's safety credentials for industrial environments. Agility has incorporated several new features designed to align with established safety standards for industrial mobile robots. These include a Category 1 (CAT1) emergency stop function, an integrated Safety PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), physical E-stop buttons on the robot itself, and a wireless teach pendant that also features an integrated E-stop. Furthermore, the robot now utilizes Functional Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE), a protocol designed to ensure safe data communication in industrial automation systems.

Melonee Wise, Chief Product Officer at Agility Robotics, stated that these upgrades "reinforce our commitment to cooperative safety, and demonstrate a path for Digit and human colleagues to one day work side by side." The emphasis on safety standards is crucial as humanoids move from development labs into shared workspaces.

A video about the safety work done by Agility Robotics

Improved Endurance and Autonomy

To increase practical usability in demanding warehouse shifts, Digit's battery system has been reworked for greater efficiency, now offering up to four hours of runtime on a single charge. Complementing the longer battery life is a new autonomous docking capability, allowing Digit to recharge itself without human intervention, paving the way for more continuous operation.

Agility also mentioned streamlined manufacturing processes for the robot, suggesting a maturation of its production capabilities as it scales deployment.

Dexterity and AMR Integration

Physical upgrades include more robust limbs and redesigned end effectors (the robot's 'hands'). Agility states these changes provide a wider range of grasping angles, potentially unlocking new manipulation tasks and improving performance on existing ones. These refinements likely stem from feedback gathered during ongoing pilot deployments in real-world logistics and manufacturing settings, where Agility claims Digit is the only commercially deployed humanoid of its kind.

Significantly, the company highlighted Digit's ability to integrate with Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs). Rather than solely replacing human tasks, Digit is being positioned to work in concert with other automation. The updated robot can autonomously dispatch an AMR to transport items it has handled, aiming to bridge gaps between different automated processes and human workstations. This addresses a common challenge in warehouses where different types of automation can create isolated 'islands'.

Context and Next Steps

These upgrades signal Agility's focus on the practical realities of deploying humanoids at scale: safety compliance, operational endurance, physical robustness, and integration with existing infrastructure. While the promise of general-purpose humanoids continues to capture attention, Agility's incremental, industrially-focused improvements underscore the steps needed to transition these robots into productive commercial roles. The success of these upgrades will likely be measured by how effectively they facilitate broader customer adoption and demonstrate tangible value in logistics operations.