Agility Digit 5 Humanoid Squats to Protect Workers, Launches in 2027
Agility Robotics unveils Digit 5, a humanoid that avoids or squats near workers, lifts 50 pounds and targets warehouse and factory deployment in 2027.
Summary
Agility Robotics unveiled Digit 5 on September 15, 2026, designing the humanoid to share warehouses and automotive factories with people without cages or isolated work cells. AI and undisclosed vision based sensors let it avoid distant workers, stop to let them pass, or squat and sit when they approach closely. CTO Pras Velagapudi said its fleet software can connect with workplace safety systems. Nvidia Thor IGX supplies computing, while Nvidia Halos for Robotics supports functional safety. Early access is planned for the first half of 2027, followed by general availability by year end; Agility is retooling RoboFab in Salem, Oregon. The company is also helping develop ISO 25785-1, an industrial mobile robot safety standard awaiting committee review and a vote by 89 member nations.
Digit 5 repeatedly lifts 50 pounds, covering every single person lift task defined by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Its battery runs 90 minutes, recharges in nine minutes and enables more than 20 operating hours per 24 hours. The 5 foot, 11 inch robot reaches 7.2 feet, versus Digit 4’s 5.5 feet, while swappable grippers and new AI skills expand work beyond moving totes to stacking pallets, packaging goods and navigating occupied aisles. Earlier Digits have logged more than 65,000 hours across North American warehouses and factories since GXO began full time commercial operations in Atlanta in 2024; Schaeffler, Amazon and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada have also piloted or deployed them. Cofounder Jonathan Hurst, an Oregon State University robotics researcher, calls safety an industry blocker as US and Chinese manufacturers race to scale. Commercial proof of this cooperative safety model could support closer human robot collaboration.
Positives
- Digit 5 can avoid people, stop or sit instead of requiring cages and isolated robot work cells.
- A 50 pound repeated lifting capacity covers all OSHA defined single person lifting tasks.
- Nine minute recharging helps the 90 minute battery support more than 20 operating hours per day.
- A 7.2 foot reach and swappable grippers expand Digit 5’s potential warehouse and factory assignments.
- More than 65,000 operating hours give Agility experience from deployments involving GXO, Schaeffler, Amazon and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada.
- ISO 25785-1 could establish an international safety framework for industrial mobile robots if approved.
Risks & concerns
- Early access will not begin until the first half of 2027, with general availability delayed until year end.
- Agility has not disclosed the specific vision based sensors Digit 5 uses to detect nearby people.
- ISO 25785-1 remains under committee review and still requires a vote by 89 member nations.
- Close human robot collaboration remains unproven until cooperative safety succeeds in commercial deployments.
- Digit 5’s battery lasts only 90 minutes before requiring its nine minute recharge cycle.
- Jonathan Hurst identifies safety as an industrywide blocker while US and Chinese humanoid manufacturers accelerate production.