Agility's Humanoid Robots to Handle Spanx Factory Operations

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Up until now, the humanoid robotics industry has been all about promises and pilot projects. While these initiatives are crucial for the eventual deployment of new technology, they often don't lead to anything more significant. However, Agility has recently announced a formal deal with logistics giant GXO, following a successful pilot.

Digit, Agility's humanoid robot, will be responsible for moving totes around a Connecticut Spanx factory. Neither party has disclosed the exact number of robots that will be involved in this process, which suggests that the figure is still relatively small. When the numbers are in the tens or hundreds of thousands, companies usually can't wait to share the information.

The robots will be leased as part of a RaaS (robots as a service) model, rather than being purchased outright. This approach allows the client to defer the massive upfront costs of such a complex system, while still having access to support and software updates.

GXO began piloting Digit robots last year and has also recently announced a pilot deal with one of Agility's biggest competitors, Apptronik. It's unclear how one will affect the other.

Peggy Johnson, Agility's CEO, has emphasized the company's focus on ROI, which sets it apart from others in the category where results are still largely theoretical.

"There will be many firsts in the humanoid robot market in the years to come, but I'm extremely proud of the fact that Agility is the first with actual humanoid robots deployed at a customer site, generating revenue and solving real-world business problems," Johnson said. "Agility has always been focused on the only metric that matters — delivering value to our customers by putting Digit to work — and this milestone deployment raises the bar for the entire industry."

Oregon-based Agility has been ahead of the rest of the market in terms of development and deployment, so it's not surprising to see the company achieve another key milestone. Of course, this is still early days for the industry, and no clear market leader has emerged.

Image Credits: Agility Robotics