GXO, Agility Robotics Team to Deploy Digit Humanoid Robot in Logistics

Logistics provider GXO and Agility Robotics have signed a multi-year deal to deploy the Digit humanoid robot in GXO’s logistics operations. 

The move follows GXO’s successful pilot program late last year and the agreement is the industry’s “first formal commercial deployment of humanoid robots and first Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) deployment of humanoid robots,” according to the company. 

“We’re building on the success of last year’s groundbreaking pilot with Agility by deploying fully operational Digit humanoids into a live warehouse environment,” said Adrian Stoch, GXO’s chief automation officer. 

“Our R&D approach is to partner with developers all over the world to help them build and validate practical use cases that improve the working environment for our employees while optimizing operations for our customers. Agility shares this philosophy and Digit is the perfect addition to work alongside our people in our fulfillment center. We’re delighted to progress our partnership through this critical milestone.”

As part of the agreement, Agility will also provide its cloud automation platform, Agility Arc which is used to deploy and manage Digit fleets, incorporating facility mapping, workflow definition and operational management. 

Digit is a multi-purpose, logistics robot, designed for repetitive and heavy tasks such as bulk material handling in warehouses and distribution centers. It also incorporates AI models so it can autonomously adapt to ever-changing workflows. 

Related:Agility Robotics to Deploy Humanoid Robots Across Supply Chains

GXO shared a video of the Digit humanoid robots going fully operational in its SPANX commercial warehouse in Atlanta, Georgia.

There, Digit robots are helping with repetitive tasks such as moving totes from cobots and placing them on conveyors. GXO says the companies will continue to explore additional ways to use and scale Digit to meet demand. 

“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,” said Peggy Johnson, CEO of Agility Robotics. “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.”