Agility Robotics is building a 70,000-square-foot facility in Salem, Oregon, called “RoboFab,” to manufacture its Digit humanoid robot. The factory is expected to open later this year, with customer deliveries beginning in 2024 and market availability in 2025. The facility will have the capacity to produce over 10,000 units of the Digit robot annually. The company plans to scale up production over time and aims to build “hundreds” of units in its first year.
The Digit humanoid robot stands at 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) tall and weighs approximately 65 kg (141 lb). It has a pair of claw-like gripper hands capable of carrying loads up to 16 kg (35 lb). The robot can autonomously charge itself, allowing for a theoretical 16 hours of continuous operation. It features bird-like legs similar to Agility’s Cassie robot, which holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest 100-meter sprint by a bipedal robot.
Equipped with camera vision and LiDAR, Digit can be controlled using a gamepad-style tablet and can perform tasks such as picking up and putting down objects. Agility Robotics has also been experimenting with using large language model (LLM) artificial intelligence to enable Digit to program itself in response to natural language verbal commands.
Initially, Digit will be utilized for moving boxes and totes within Agility’s factory and those of its early customers. The company plans to expand its capabilities to loading and unloading trucks in the future. Although there are other companies in the market producing humanoid robots, Agility Robotics aims to play a significant role in the growing adoption of humanoid robot workers.
The establishment of the RoboFab factory and the increased production of humanoid robots indicate a significant shift in the workforce. Numerous companies have recognized the potential of humanoid robots and secured investments to develop and deploy them. The future workforce may see the widespread integration of humanoid robots, marking a transformative change.
Source: Agility Robotics