Agility’s Digit V5 robot targets 20-hour workdays without safety fences in factories

US-based Agility Robotics is preparing to launch its Digit V5 humanoid robot, with the company positioning it as a step toward safer human-robot collaboration in warehouses and factories. The robot is designed to operate alongside workers without traditional safety fencing, addressing a key challenge in deploying humanoids in real-world workplaces. Digit V5 is expected to support 20-hour operational days and use interchangeable end-effectors for different material-handling tasks, with autonomous tool changes planned for the future. Recently, Agility Robotics revealed its plans to go public through a $2.5 billion SPAC deal, raising over $620 million to fund product development, research, and expansion. Robots go cageless Agility Robotics is preparing to deploy its next-generation Digit V5 humanoid robot to early customers in December, marking a major step toward wider commercial use of humanoid machines in industrial environments. Digit V5 is designed specifically for warehouse and factory operations, where it can work alongside people without requiring the extensive safety fencing typically used around industrial robots. The humanoid platform combines a human-scale form factor with autonomous mobility, allowing it to navigate facilities and perform material-handling tasks in spaces designed for human workers. Agility says Digit V5 incorporates upgraded safety systems intended to let the robot operate in close proximity to people. This could eliminate the need for dedicated cages and barriers that can consume valuable floor space, require costly facility modifications, disrupt traffic patterns and force changes to existing workflows, reports Humanoids Daily. The ability to operate without conventional fencing could make Digit V5 particularly useful in crowded warehouses and factories where installing a dedicated robotic enclosure is impractical. Workers could also move through areas where the robot is operating, potentially allowing more flexible collaboration between humans and machines. Agility expects early customer deployments to validate Digit V5’s safety capabilities under real-world conditions before broader production begins. The company believes the technology could expand humanoid applications beyond logistics and manufacturing into sectors such as retail and pharmaceuticals, where earlier systems faced greater operational restrictions. Advances robot safety Agility is placing safety at the center of its next-generation Digit V5 humanoid robot, with a new system designed to let it operate in close proximity to people without traditional safety fencing. The robot combines cameras, sensors and software that can detect and interpret people in its surroundings with hardware designed to respond safely to unexpected movements. Its proprietary cycloidal actuators in the hips and knees provide the strength and dynamic stability needed to react quickly without losing balance, dropping a payload or falling. Agility has tested this capability by suddenly removing the surface beneath the robot, prompting it to take a corrective step and maintain its load. The company considers this dynamic stability an important part of its overall safety approach. Digit V5 also introduces other features intended to support safer and more flexible operation. Its battery system is designed to support more than 20 hours of work per day, potentially allowing one robot to operate across three shifts. The humanoid also uses an ISO-standard flange that allows it to work with a broad range of robotic end-effectors. Agility has demonstrated Digit changing grippers and plans to eventually enable autonomous tool changes.These capabilities could expand the robot beyond bulk material handling into tasks such as kitting and sorting, while maintaining the safety requirements needed for workplaces where humans and robots operate together.Recommended ArticlesGet the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Jijo is an automotive and business journalist based in India. Armed with a BA in History (Honors) from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University, and a PG diploma in Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi, he has worked for news agencies, national newspapers, and automotive magazines. In his spare time, he likes to go off-roading, engage in political discourse, travel, and teach languages.