Agility Robotics Secures GXO Deal: First Humanoid Robots Deployed in Real-World Operations

 

Agility Robotics Secures GXO Deal: First Humanoid Robots Deployed in Real-World Operations
Image credit: Agility Robotics Website 

Agility Robotics Advances with Major GXO Deal

The humanoid robotics industry has long been filled with promises and pilots, but few meaningful deployments. On Thursday, Agility announced a formal agreement with logistics giant GXO, following a successful pilot. Digit, Agility's bipedal robot, will start by moving plastic totes around a Spanx factory in Georgia. The exact number of robots involved hasn't been disclosed, likely indicating a small-scale deployment for now. 

The robots will be leased through a robots-as-a-service (RaaS) model, allowing GXO to avoid the high upfront costs of such systems while benefiting from ongoing support and software updates. GXO began testing Digit robots last year and has also announced a pilot with Agility's competitor, Apptronik, though the impact of this on the new deal is unclear.

Agility Digit bipedal robot
Image credit: Agility Robotics Website 

Peggy Johnson, who became Agility's CEO in March, emphasizes the company's focus on return on investment (ROI), a critical factor in an industry where practical results have been sparse. Johnson highlighted Agility's achievement as the first to deploy humanoid robots at a customer site, generating revenue and solving real-world business problems. This milestone sets a high standard for the industry.

Agility, based in Oregon, has been a leader in development and deployment within the market. Despite early achievements, the industry is still in its infancy, and no clear market leader has emerged. Amazon began piloting Agility systems in its warehouses last October, but no formal next steps have been announced.