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Agility Robotics wants its next Digit humanoid working longer than most people ever would, with a target of more than 20 hours in a day.
New battery technology and rapid charging are supposed to keep the robot active across much more of a factory or warehouse schedule, chief business officer Daniel Diez said. Company executives are betting longer operating windows can give customers more working time from a single machine.
Long days only count if the humanoid has enough work to do. v5 is also being prepared for a broader range of industrial jobs, giving the company more to prove than battery endurance alone.
More jobs for the same machine
Digit’s commercial work has mostly involved moving materials through factories and warehouses. Agility says it started there because repetitive physical jobs can be difficult to staff, an area also attracting other factory-focused humanoid developers.
Interchangeable hands and tools could move the robot into smaller-item work such as kitting and sorting. Diez told Humanoid Daily that engineers have demonstrated the humanoid removing one set of hands and attaching another in the lab. Autonomous tool changes are also on the near-term roadmap.
Working closer to people could expand where the machine goes next. Current industrial humanoids often operate behind safety barriers, while the next-generation robot is intended to work in shared areas without the same fenced separation. Easier integration could help manufacturers fit humanoids into existing production systems without carving out dedicated robot zones.
Longer hours change the productivity calculation
Some customers want one robot capable of covering three shifts, Diez said.
Schaeffler offers a glimpse of how Agility measures performance. One Digit already deployed at the manufacturer’s South Carolina facility moves machine parts into an industrial washer and can deliver them faster than the washer can process them, according to Diez.
Agility’s commercial case rests on output and cost rather than simply outrunning a person. Diez said the company can deliver work below the fully burdened cost of an equivalent human employee in hard-to-staff jobs, a claim customer use will have to test. Other humanoid makers are facing a similar test as factory trials run for longer periods.
Early v5 units are scheduled to reach customers in December 2026. Broader deployment is expected after the robot manufacturer gathers operational and safety data.
Plant operators and workers face a new calculation
Plant managers considering a humanoid should start with the job they want automated. Buyers can ask vendors for task-level throughput and downtime, then factor in charging needs and human intervention.
Workers in repetitive handling roles have another reason to watch. People working alongside these systems can track changes in task assignments and staffing, including whether robots are mainly covering unfilled hours or taking over work previously assigned to employees. Existing warehouse automation already offers a glimpse of how sorting and movement can be separated from broader jobs.
More capable humanoids could turn staffing decisions into automation decisions faster than many plants are used to. Managers and workers alike will need to judge the change by what happens to actual jobs, not just how long a robot can stay powered on.
Also read: KIT’s robotic disassembly system can change tactics mid-task when damaged machines no longer match their original design.