Agility is a startup that builds bipedal/humanoid robots for warehouse work. Amazon believes that Digit, which can move, grasp, and handle items in warehouses, is well suited for buildings designed for humans and sees a big opportunity to scale a mobile manipulator solution. The initial use of this technology will be to help employees with tote recycling. In September, Agility announced that it is ramping up production with the addition of Robohub, a factory in Salem, Oregon, capable of producing more than 10,000 robots a year when fully operational.
Key takeaways:
- Amazon announced it will begin testing Agility’s bipedal robot, Digit, in its facilities, although it's in the very early stages and there's no guarantee of deployment.
- Agility was one of the firms that received a cut from Amazon's $1 billion 'Industrial Innovation' fund, which was announced last April.
- Agility is leading in the development and production of bipedal/humanoid robots for warehouse work, with the theory that workplaces are built around humans, so robots should be able to operate in those spaces.
- Amazon plans to use Digit to help employees with tote recycling, a repetitive process of picking up and moving empty totes once inventory has been completely picked out of them.