20 hours of work on 9-minute charge: US-made Digit 5 humanoid robot unveiled

Agility Robotics unveiled Digit 5 on September 15, introducing a 5-foot-11-inch humanoid designed to move materials alongside people in warehouses and manufacturing facilities. Developed in Salem, Oregon, the 284-pound machine can repeatedly lift 50 pounds and recharge its battery in nine minutes. The fifth-generation robot incorporates lessons gathered during three years of customer deployments involving Digit 4. Agility redesigned its hardware, power system, and safety architecture after customers requested a larger payload, longer operating hours, and the ability to use the robot without separating it from workers using physical barriers. New legs support heavier loads One of Digit 5’s most noticeable changes is the removal of the backward-bending, bird-like legs associated with its predecessor. Its new legs bend in a more human-like direction, allowing the robot to crouch, collect cargo, and kneel without striking its ankles against the floor. Powered by proprietary cycloidal actuators, the redesigned joints help Digit carry large objects throughout the working day. The changes have increased its payload capacity by 40 percent, enabling it to handle loads weighing up to 50 pounds repeatedly. Knee pads support the robot when it kneels. It can also move into a seated position and shut down its motors, allowing workers to approach it more safely. Digit 5’s reach has grown from 5.5 feet to 7.2 feet. Despite the additional reach, the robot remains compact enough to pass through standard doorways and work within facilities originally built for people. Nine-minute charging extends operating time The humanoid is powered by a battery that provides 90 minutes of operation before needing a recharge. A nine-minute charging cycle could allow Digit 5 to work for more than 20 hours per day, provided it can regularly return to its charging dock. Its rear section contains the charging port, a safety display, an emergency stop button and a camera. Across the machine, cameras, depth sensors and inertial units detect people and help the robot decide whether to change direction, stop or enter its seated state. Agility says Digit 5 is the first humanoid designed to undergo a field evaluation against OSHA industrial safety standards. The company is also participating in efforts to establish humanoid robot safety standards in the US, Canada, and through the ISO. Modular hardware targets multiple warehouse jobs NVIDIA is the first launch partner for Digit 5’s safety stack. Agility is using NVIDIA’s IGX Thor and Halos for Robotics platforms to develop a new safety controller and certification pathway. The robot has 30 motors, with motor-level controls operating around 1,000 times per second. Its ISO-standard grippers can be replaced with other tools, including a claw-like hand developed for handling large bins. Agility Arc connects Digit with warehouse or production systems and coordinates its work with conveyors and autonomous mobile robots. This combination could allow one machine to perform jobs ranging from depalletizing to palletizing. Agility reported more than $300 million in conditional commitments for Digit 5 as of May 2026. Early access is planned for the first half of 2027, followed by wider availability later that year. Production will take place at the company’s 70,000-square-foot RoboFab facility, which has capacity for up to 10,000 robots annually.Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Atharva is a full-time content writer with a post-graduate degree in media & amp; entertainment and a graduate degree in electronics & telecommunications. He has written in the sports and technology domains respectively. In his leisure time, Atharva loves learning about digital marketing and watching soccer matches. His main goal behind joining Interesting Engineering is to learn more about how the recent technological advancements are helping human beings on both societal and individual levels in their daily lives.