Amazon to Test Agility Robotics’ Humanoid Robot

Agility Robotics’ humanoid robot, Digit, is set to be deployed for tests at Amazon’s research site to “support workplace safety and help Amazon deliver to customers faster”.

The announcement comes alongside updates to Digit’s capabilities, with the robot gaining “self-righting and recovery” features that allow it to get up after falling over. 

The bipedal robot can move, grasp and handle items, described by Agility as the “first human-centric, multi-purpose robot” for the manufacturing and logistics industry. 

Last April, the company was named a recipient of Amazon’s Industrial Innovation Fund, becoming one of five companies to receive a cut of the $1 billion pot. Now, the retailer has confirmed it will be testing Digit at its robotics research and development site in the south of Seattle.

“[Digit’s] size and shape are well suited for buildings that are designed for humans, and we believe that there is a big opportunity to scale a mobile manipulator solution, such as Digit, which can work collaboratively with employees,” Amazon said in a statement. 

“Our initial use for this technology will be to help employees with tote recycling, a highly repetitive process of picking up and moving empty totes once inventory has been completely picked out of them.”

Related:Agility Robotics’ Digit Gets Face, Hands

In September, Agility announced it would be opening a factory in Salem, Oregon, to mass-produce Digit.

The 70,000-square-foot facility is expected to produce hundreds of Digit robots in the first year, with the capacity to scale to more than 10,000 robots annually.