So far, the humanoid robotics industry has been all promises and pilots. While important to the eventual deployment of new technology, these programs involve small numbers of robots and often don’t evolve into anything more substantial. However, Agility announced Thursday that it has made a formal deal after a successful pilot with logistics giant GXO.
Digit’s first job will be moving plastic bags at a Spanx factory in Georgia — which is definitely not a euphemism. Neither party has disclosed how many bipedal robots will be pulling boxes from the cobots and placing them on conveyor belts, which likely means the number is still small. When we’re talking tens or hundreds of thousands, parties involved are usually eager to share that information.
The systems are leased as part of the RaaS (Robotics as a Service) model, rather than purchased outright. This allows the customer to defer the enormous upfront costs of such a complex system, while still having access to support and software updates.
GXO began experimenting with digital robotics last year. The logistics company also recently announced a pilot deal with one of Agility’s biggest competitors, AbtronicIt is not clear how one will affect the other.
Peggy Johnson, who took over as Agility’s CEO in March, has emphasized the company’s focus on return on investment — a stark difference in a category where outcomes are still largely theoretical.
“There will be many firsts in the humanoid robotics market in the coming years, but I’m very proud that Agility is the first to deploy actual humanoid robots at a customer site, generating revenue and solving real-world business problems,” said Johnson. “Agility has always focused on the one metric that matters – delivering value to our customers by powering Digit – and this important 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 no surprise to see the company be the first to reach another milestone. Of course, this is still early days for the industry and no clear market leader has emerged.
Amazon began testing Agility systems in its own warehouses last October, but neither company has officially announced what the next steps will be.