Digit: First humanoid robot works permanently in a company
Until now, there have only been test runs for the use of humanoid robots in companies. Digit from Agility Robotics is probably the first robot to stay.
Digit will work for the logistics company GXO "in a permanent position" in future.
(Image: Agility Robotics)
Things are now getting serious for the humanoid robot Digit from Agility Robotics: Digit will be working permanently at the logistics service provider GXO Logistics in the future and will be used productively there. It was previously used there for several months in a pilot project. Both companies have now agreed that the robot will be used on a permanent basis. This would probably be the first formal commercial use of a humanoid robot and the first use of a humanoid robot as Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS).
Under the agreement signed between Agility Robotics and GXO, GXO will use the Digit humanoid robot and the Agility Arc cloud automation platform. The automation platform is used to manage multiple Digit robots. At the same time, the platform can map the entire plant, define workflows, manage operations and rectify faults. The robots are to be integrated into the existing automated operation, according to the two companies.
Further tasks sought
It is not yet clear which tasks Digit will take on in addition to transporting containers and positioning them on a conveyor belt. However, it is expected to take on repetitive, heavy tasks to relieve human employees. Agility Robotics and GXO want to jointly evaluate new areas of responsibility as part of the RaaS agreement. The use of Digit will then be gradually scaled up.
"We are building on the success of last year's ground-breaking pilot project with Agility by deploying fully functional Digit humanoids in a real warehouse environment," says Adrian Stoch, Chief Automation Officer at GXO. "Our R&D approach is to work with developers around the world to help them develop and validate practical use cases that improve the working environment for our employees while optimizing operations for our customers. Agility shares this philosophy, and Digit is the perfect fit to work with our employees in our fulfillment center."
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmmung wird hier ein externes Video (Kaltura Inc.) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (Kaltura Inc.) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
In addition to Agility Robotics and GXO, other robotics companies are also exploring the productive use of their humanoid robots in factories. These include BMW, which uses the Figure 01 humanoid robot, Mercedes-Benz with Apptronik's Apollo robot and Nio with the Walker S from UBtech. However, these companies are not yet as advanced as Agility Robotics with its Digit, which will now be the first humanoid robot to be permanently deployed at a company. Agility Robotics started a pilot project with GXO Logistics back in September and is now testing another humanoid robot, Apollo, for use in its logistics warehouses.
(olb)