Meet Digit – a bipedal robot designed by Agility Robotics. This new version of the robot was first debuted in 2019 and can not only walk but also carry out simple logistic operations in a warehouse. Digit’s capabilities were demonstrated recently at the 2023 ProMat trade show for the manufacturing and supply chain industry in Chicago, and Agility Robotics has already begun a round of field testing in a commercial setting.
Briefly About Agility Robotics
But before we dive deep into Digit’s features and possible applications, let’s mention a few words about Agility Robotics. The company has been working in robotics since 2015, and Digit belongs to the second generation of walking robots it has developed.
Agility’s CTO and cofounder Jonathan Hurst, who has also worked at Oregon State University’s Dynamic Robotics Laboratory, believes that bipedal robots are the fastest and optimal way to bring robots into the workforce. In a 2019 piece in IEEE Spectrum, Hurst explained: “We must build robots with legs because our world is designed for legs. We step through narrow spaces, we navigate around obstacles, we go up and down steps. Robots on wheels or tracks can’t easily move around the spaces we’ve optimized for our own bodies.”
Agility Robotics has observed animal movements, particularly those of birds like the ostrich, and based its designs on animal models. In fact, the very first robot designed by the company in 2017 was Cassie, a bipedal platform without a head, arms, and torso.
Introducing the New Digit
Digit is different from previous robots by Agility Robotics because it has a head used for human-robot interactions and arms equipped to complete the first task Digit will perform.
With a head turned sideways, Digit is not anatomically humanoid, but its facial interface should give humans an understanding of Digit’s work. While the head is still a work in progress, commercial testing should help develop it shortly. Digit’s simplistic arms and hands are designed to complete one task: moving plastic bins (called totes) around a warehouse or a conveyor belt. Watch Digit accomplish his task here:
As you can see, Digit's task is rather simple and even boring for a human, which is why having robots like Digit do it instead of humans is a great idea. While teaching a robot to do this task isn’t easy, it allows robots to aid human workers in the same workspace readily. It also means companies won’t have to change the layout of the warehouse to accommodate Digit. In this way, Agility Robotics aims to introduce bipedal robots into the workplace in a rapid and sustainable way.
The company also points out that Digit will be able to execute many different tasks in the future and not just carry objects. Currently, the company is testing whether Digit can complete its task efficiently enough to warrant its introduction into a warehouse. Another hurdle the company will have to face in the future is scaling up the rate of production. At some point, Agility Robotics will have to produce thousands of robots, and it is currently unclear if that is possible. Still, the company states that they’re ready to start shipping robots as early as 2024 and make Digit generally available in 2025.
