Agility Robotics is building the RoboFab factory, covering 70,000 square meters in Salem, Oregon, with the capacity to produce over 10,000 humanoid Digit robots each year.
Aindrea Campbell, the Chief Operating Officer of Agility Robotics, introduces the RoboFab factory. (Video: Agility Robotics).
The RoboFab Factory is set to open at the end of this year, with product deliveries to customers starting in 2024, New Atlas reported on September 19. Agility Robotics plans to manufacture hundreds of Digit robots in the first year, with plans to scale up production thereafter.
Digit is a bipedal robot standing 175 cm tall and weighing approximately 65 kg, capable of carrying loads up to 16 kg with its gripping hands. It charges automatically and theoretically can operate for 16 hours, equivalent to two full-time shifts.
Digit features legs that fold backward, resembling bird legs. This leg design is similar to Cassie, another robot model from Agility Robotics, which set the Guinness World Record for the fastest 100 meters run by a bipedal robot in 2022. Both robots have short upper legs that extend forward, long calves that extend backward, and high ankle joints—located where people typically expect a knee—to connect to small toe pads that make contact with the ground.
Agility Robotics plans to manufacture hundreds of Digit robots in the first year.
One advantage of Digit is its ability to flexibly fold its legs backward. It can also squat down in front of shelves to retrieve goods without having its knees protrude, allowing it to pick them up without leaning forward. Additionally, the robot is equipped with observation cameras and LiDAR scanning technology.
Operators can control Digit via a tablet. The robot is hard-coded with various tasks, primarily involving picking up goods and placing them in designated spots. In recent months, Agility Robotics has been experimenting with using AI language models to enable Digit to self-program and respond to voice commands.
Initially, Digit will assist in transporting boxes and bags within Agility Robotics’ facilities and those of its customers. Following that, Agility Robotics hopes these robots will be able to load and unload goods for trucks.
