Digit humanoid demonstrates its newest performance at ProMat 2025. Supply: Agility Robotics
At ProMat final month, Agility Robotics Inc. unveiled new capabilities for Digit that the corporate stated increase the humanoid robotic’s utility for its rising person base.
“These upgrades permit Agility to increase Digit’s capabilities to fulfill our increasing business and buyer wants,” said Melonee Clever, chief product officer at Agility Robotics. “Collectively, they reinforce our dedication to cooperative security, and show a path for Digit and human colleagues to someday work aspect by aspect.”
Salem, Ore.-based Agility Robotics stated its robotic is designed to reinforce the human workforce. Digit was named the 2024 RBR50 Robotic of the 12 months for being the primary humanoid to start business trials and deployments in warehouses and manufacturing services.
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Agility Robotics provides options
Working carefully with prospects, Agility Robotics designed options that it stated will help speedy and scaled deployment of Digit fleets, together with:
- Expanded and extra environment friendly battery energy with a period of as much as 4 hours
- Autonomous docking onto charging stations
- Streamlined manufacturing of the bipedal, multipurpose cellular manipulation robotic (MMR)
- New strong limbs and finish effectors, giving Digit a wider vary of greedy angles and unlocking new use circumstances with expanded prospects for manipulation
Digit built-in with AMRs
“Humanoid robots needs to be designed to work alongside autonomous cellular robots (AMRs), not substitute them, and Digit is not any exception,” famous Agility Robotics. “Humanoids excel at complicated manipulation, greedy, and navigating human-centric areas, whereas AMRs are masters of environment friendly transportation over longer distances.”
Digit can autonomously dispatch an AMR to ship gadgets to areas akin to packout stations. This reduces the necessity for fixed human intervention, maximizing effectivity and permitting employees to concentrate on extra complicated duties, the firm stated. It has been working with AMR suppliers to allow this communcation.
Agility stated its Arc cloud robotic platform now can name and dispatch AMRs. Digit has already been working alongside AMRs at its deployment with GXO Logistics close to Atlanta. The corporate additionally demonstrated integration with AMRs from Cellular Industrial Robots and Zebra Applied sciences at ProMat in Chicago.
New robots tackle security considerations
Requirements exist for machine and robotic security, however security requirements for “dynamically secure industrial cellular robots” akin to Digit that require balancing are nonetheless within the growth. Agility Robotics stated it’s engaged on cooperative security purposes to fulfill the requirements of OSHA-regulated environments mandatory for humanoids to work alongside people.
The corporate asserted that the newest model of Digit adheres to security requirements for industrial cellular robots. Agility stated the brand new options signify a big step towards deploying cooperative security purposes.
Digit’s enhanced person interface now options at-a-glance, back and front shows that assist monitor Wi-Fi standing, connectivity, connection to Agility Arc, battery ranges and upkeep ports, making it simpler to watch and handle the robotic.
The brand new security options embody:
- A Class 1, or CAT1 cease, which maintains energy to the machine actuators through the deceleration course of, permitting the machine to cease easily and safely earlier than a shutdown.
- A security programmable logic controller (PLC) supplies security features that meet Efficiency Degree d (PLd).
- An emergency cease or E-stop button on a robotic is designed to instantly halt all robotic actions and operations in case of an emergency. Its predominant functions embody stopping accidents, guaranteeing employee security, complying with security laws, defending tools, and offering fast response management.
- FailSafe over EtherCAT (FSoE) is a security protocol utilized in robotics and industrial automation to make sure secure communication between units over an EtherCAT community. It allows the transmission of safety-critical information, akin to emergency cease alerts and sensor suggestions, whereas additionally sustaining real-time efficiency.
Agility Robotics stated it’s dedicated to security and is working to adjust to a number of requirements because it develops robots to finally work alongside individuals.
Agility Arc supplies management within the cloud
Agility Arc is a cloud-based platform that provides prospects management of their automation for a variety of logistics and manufacturing workflows. Agility claimed that it’s the first humanoid fleet administration system to efficiently combine and deploy humanoid robots in a business surroundings.
As a part of its newest options, Agility Arc permits prospects to speak with AMRs and their corresponding platforms. Different new Agility Arc options embody:
- Digit help
- Charger help
- Workcell EMS help
- Straightforward webhook integration
- Distant monitor, help, and upkeep of Digit and all equipment
- Continued and expanded Enterprise Techniques Integration (MES, WMS, WES, PLC)
At ProMat, Digit demonstrated new use circumstances – together with these built-in with AMRs – akin to stacking and unstacking of totes, goods-to-person (G2P) or Unit Sorter, AMR loading and unloading, palletizing and depalletizing, nesting, flowrack and carts, and automatic putwall.
Final month, Agility Robotics additionally introduced that it’s increasing its collaboration with NVIDIA Corp., increasing adoption of robotic simulation and studying frameworks to coach and take a look at behaviors on Digit, in addition to to make Digit fashions obtainable to companions on NVIDIA Omniverse.
Be taught extra about humanoids on the Robotics Summit
Humanoids will probably be outstanding on the 2025 Robotics Summit & Expo, which will probably be on April 30 and Could 1 in Boston. Aaron Saunders, chief know-how officer of Boston Dynamics, is giving the opening keynote on Day 2 of the occasion. He’ll focus on the not too long ago redesigned Atlas robotic and share his ideas concerning the future humanoids.
The primary day of the present will characteristic a panel concerning the state of humanoids with Pras Velagapudi, CTO at Agility Robotics; Aaron Prather, director of robotics and autonomous methods at ASTM Worldwide; and Al Makke, director of engineering at Schaeffler (which can also be testing Digit). The panel will discover the technical and enterprise challenges shaping the event of humanoids. It can additionally share insights from early deployments, what’s on the horizon, and the continued efforts to determine security requirements.
The Robotics Summit & Expo will brings collectively greater than 5,000 builders centered on constructing robots for quite a lot of business industries. Attendees can achieve insights into the newest enabling applied sciences, engineering greatest practices, and rising developments.
The occasion may also embody over 200 exhibitors, 60-plus audio system on stage, greater than 10 hours of devoted networking time, a Ladies in Robotics Breakfast, a profession truthful, startup showcase, and extra. Returning to the present is the RBR50 Pavilion and RBR50 Awards Dinner, which can honor the winners of the annual RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards.
