Amazon has recently announced that it will begin testing Agility’s bipedal robot, Digit, in its warehouse facilities. This move comes as part of Amazon’s continued investment in robotics technology and its exploration of innovative solutions to enhance its warehouse operations.
Key Takeaway
Amazon has started testing Agility’s Digit robot in its warehouse facilities, exploring the potential use of bipedal robots for enhanced warehouse operations. While still in the early stages of testing, Amazon’s investment in Digit reflects its commitment to leveraging robotics technology to improve efficiency and productivity in its warehouses.
Exploring New Possibilities
The testing of Agility’s Digit is still in its early stages, and Amazon is taking careful steps to understand the robot better and determine if it is a good fit for their processes. While there is no guarantee that Digit will be deployed across Amazon’s warehouses, this testing phase allows Amazon to evaluate the robot’s capabilities and potential benefits.
Agility’s Digit is part of a growing trend of startups developing bipedal or humanoid robots specifically designed for warehouse work. The idea behind this technology is to create robots that can operate in the same spaces as humans, making them more adaptable to existing warehouse infrastructures.
Digit: A Mobile Manipulator
According to Amazon, Digit is capable of various tasks such as moving, grasping, and handling items in tight spaces and corners of warehouses. Its size and shape are well-suited for human-designed buildings, offering the potential for collaborative work between employees and robots.
Initially, Amazon plans to use Digit to assist employees with tote recycling, a repetitive process involving the picking up and moving of empty totes once inventory has been depleted from them. This deployment is just the beginning, as Amazon sees the potential for scaling up the use of mobile manipulator solutions like Digit in other areas of their operations.
Investing in Industrial Innovation
Last year, Amazon announced a $1 billion “Industrial Innovation” fund, aimed at supporting the development and advancement of robotics and other innovative technologies. Agility was one of the initial companies to receive a portion of this investment, along with other firms like Mantis Robotics, Modjoul, and Vimaan.
While Amazon has maintained that these investments do not necessarily indicate broader integrations with the technologies, the company often utilizes such funds to explore partnerships and potentially make acquisitions. Amazon’s interest in Agility’s Digit is another example of their commitment to embracing cutting-edge technology to improve their warehouse operations.
