Agility Robotics has unveiled Digit 5, a humanoid robot designed for industrial and logistics work. Capable of lifting 23 kilograms to a height of 2.1 meters, working alongside humans without physical barriers, and operating for over 20 hours a day, it aims for a balance of power, safety, and autonomy that has long been difficult to achieve for this type of machine.
Standing 1.8 meters tall and weighing 129 kilograms, the robot prioritizes functionality over design. Its autonomy of over 20 hours per day minimizes time spent recharging, a point the source presents as essential for a humanoid to hold a job. According to the source article’s author, few companies in the sector have publicly addressed the safety question so far.
Safety Based on Stopping the Robot
To address the issue of a bipedal robot falling on a person, Agility is banking on a solution that, according to the company, makes a fall physically impossible. According to the press release, Digit 5 can “avoid, stop, or adopt a seated position” autonomously. Specifically, when a person approaches, the robot sets down what it is carrying and then, if necessary, sits down stably on the floor before the person gets close.
The model also features a leg change. Agility had previously designed Cassie and then a series of Digit robots with bird-like rear legs. In a 2019 article published in IEEE Spectrum, co-founder Jonathan Hurst explained that this configuration resulted from an analysis of the physics of animal locomotion, not from a desire to resemble a specific animal.
Aiming for Lower Production Costs
At launch, the bill of materials (BOM) cost, meaning the cost of the parts making up the robot alone, could be between $150,000 and $200,000. This amount does not correspond to the full manufacturing cost. According to Agility, based on actual production data, this cost should drop below $50,000 per robot after some short-term optimizations, for a volume of 10,000 units per year.
In a document filed in June with the SEC, the U.S. stock market regulator, the company estimates that Digit 5 could be offered as a service for around $8,500 per month. Based on 20 hours of daily work and an hourly cost of $30.50 for a human employee, these estimates, which the company describes as “purely illustrative,” would result in savings of approximately $100,000 per year per robot for the employer. These figures remain assumptions, subject to change.
Orders and IPO
The press release states that as of May 2026, Agility had over $300 million in multi-year customer orders for Digit 5, as well as a pipeline of potential customers in manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics. This volume represents fewer than 1,000 robots, or about one-tenth of the full capacity of Agility’s RoboFab factory in Oregon.
Before delivering these robots, the company must go through a merger with a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company), a publicly listed shell company created to acquire another. This transaction, expected to close in the coming months, should allow Agility to raise over $620 million, primarily intended to increase production of Digit 5. According to the source, customers in the European Union and the United Kingdom should be able to purchase the robot in 2027.
