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Agility Robotics says Digit 5 can work next to people without safety fences

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Agility Robotics says Digit 5 can work next to people without safety fences

Agility Robotics has unveiled Digit 5, the next version of its humanoid robot for warehouses and factories. The company says the robot can now work alongside people without the safety fences that typically enclose industrial robots: it spots people using AI and sensors, then stops or steps aside, and gives off visual and audio signals to warn anyone nearby. Agility is the first partner for Nvidia's Halos safety platform for robotics.

Digit 5 lifts up to 22.7 kg, 40 percent more than Digit 4. Its battery charges in 9 minutes for 90 minutes of runtime, a cycle the company says allows more than 20 hours of work per day. Swappable grippers let it switch between jobs such as moving bins and loading machines. The robot stands 1.81 m tall and weighs 129 kg.

Agility points to Digit 4's record as the basis for the new robot: according to the company, Digit 4 was the first humanoid robot to pass an independent OSHA safety review on a production line, and it has logged more than 65,000 hours with customers including GXO, Amazon, and Schaeffler. At GXO specifically, it moved around 100,000 bins with about 98 percent accuracy.

The company points to orders worth more than $300 million. First deliveries start in early 2027, including in the EU. The robots are built in Salem, Oregon, at a factory that Agility says can produce up to 10,000 units a year.

Key facts

  • Digit 5 spots nearby people using AI and sensors, then stops or steps aside and adds visual and audio warnings, letting it work without the safety fences that typically cage industrial robots.
  • It lifts up to 22.7 kg (40 percent more than Digit 4), stands 1.81 m tall, and weighs 129 kg.
  • A 9-minute charge gives 90 minutes of runtime, a cycle Agility says supports more than 20 hours of work a day.
  • Digit 4 logged more than 65,000 hours with customers including GXO, Amazon, and Schaeffler, moving about 100,000 bins at GXO with about 98 percent accuracy, and Agility says it was the first humanoid robot to pass an independent OSHA safety review on a production line.
  • Agility is the first partner for Nvidia's Halos robotics safety platform, points to more than $300 million in orders, and says first deliveries begin in early 2027, including in the EU, from a Salem, Oregon plant with capacity for up to 10,000 units a year.

Why it matters

The core claim is that Digit 5 can work next to people without the safety fences these robots have needed until now: it detects people using AI and sensors, then stops or steps aside, and adds visual and audio signals to warn anyone nearby. Agility pairs that claim with Digit 4's record, saying its previous model was already the first humanoid robot to pass an independent OSHA safety review on a production line. Agility is also the first announced partner for Nvidia's Halos safety platform for robotics, which makes this launch an early public test of that platform as well as of the robot itself.

Who it affects

The most direct audience is warehouse and logistics operators, including Digit 4 customers GXO, Amazon, and Schaeffler. Workers who will share floor space with these robots are affected just as directly, since removing the fence is what changes their physical environment. Agility cites more than $300 million in orders and says first deliveries, including to customers in the EU, begin in early 2027. Nvidia's broader robotics partner ecosystem has a stake too, since the Halos rollout with Agility functions as a public proof point for that platform.

How to use it

Agility gives no price for Digit 5. What is public is configuration and timing: swappable grippers let the same robot switch between tasks such as moving bins and loading machines, and the company says first deliveries begin in early 2027, including in the EU, from a Salem, Oregon plant it says can build up to 10,000 units a year.

How solid is it

Every specific claim here (the fence-free operation, the AI-and-sensor detection, the Digit 4 track record, the OSHA review, and the order figure) comes from Agility Robotics itself. The source does not cite an independent test of Digit 5's people-detection or an outside audit of the more-than-$300-million order figure. Even the claim that sounds most independent, that Digit 4 passed an independent OSHA safety review, is relayed only as something Agility says, not as something the outlet verified directly. None of that makes the claims false, but the safety-without-fences pitch is, for now, a manufacturer's own account.

Risks and caveats

The source does not say what sensors or what kind of AI Digit 5 uses to detect people, so the fence-free claim cannot be checked against specifics. It also does not say that Digit 5 itself has passed any independent safety review: the OSHA review it mentions was passed by Digit 4, the previous model. It is unclear whether the more-than-$300-million order figure is for Digit 5 specifically or for Agility's robots generally, and the source gives no price for Digit 5. The EU is the only region named for first deliveries; no other countries are specified. Nvidia's Halos platform itself is described only as 'a safety platform for robotics,' with no further detail on what it does.