Agility Robotics has signed a multi-year agreement with GXO, the world's largest contract logistics provider, to deploy humanoid robots in various logistics operations, with the Digit humanoid robot making its first official deployment.
Until now, the humanoid robotics industry has consisted only of promises and experiments. Due to their importance in the subsequent use of new technologies, only a few robots participate in them and they generally do not evolve into anything more significant.
Agility Robotics has announced that it has officially entered into a collaboration with logistics giant GXO after a successful test.
The Digit humanoid robot's first task is to move plastic bags around a Spanx factory in Georgia.
Neither side has revealed exactly how many humanoid robots are carrying plastic bags and placing them on conveyor belts, which likely means the number is still small.
When tens or hundreds of thousands of pieces of information are involved, interested parties are often eager to disclose it.
Agility Robotics leases systems under a RaaS or Robots-as-a-Service model rather than purchasing them outright.
This model allows customers to defer the large upfront costs of such complex systems while still receiving support and software updates.
GXO began piloting Digit, a humanoid robot, last year. The logistics company had previously announced a pilot contract with Agility Robotics' competitor Apptronik.
Agility Robotics emphasized its focus on ROI, saying: “We are very proud to be the first company to deploy humanoid robots at customer sites, driving revenue and solving real business problems.”
“We always focus on one key metric: creating value for our customers by supporting Digit, and this important effort raises the bar across the industry,” she added.
Agility Robotics is ahead of the rest of the market in terms of development and deployment, so it's no surprise that it's the first company to take this new step.
Amazon began testing the Agility Robotics system in its warehouses last October, but has not officially announced the next steps.