Humanoid Robots Go to Work: Digit Hits 100,000-Tote Warehouse Milestone
– 4 min read
Milestone in Industrial-Scale Humanoid Robotics Adoption
The industrial robotics landscape has reached a pivotal moment with the emergence of humanoid robots that transcend demonstration phases to become genuine warehouse workhorses. Agility Robotics' humanoid robot, Digit, has successfully moved more than 100,000 totes at a GXO Logistics facility in Georgia. This achievement represents real work performed in an operational warehouse environment at genuine industrial scale, marking a significant departure from controlled laboratory conditions or promotional demonstrations.
This milestone demonstrates that humanoid robots are beginning to handle the repetitive, physical tasks traditionally managed by human workers in logistics operations. Digit assumes responsibility for the crucial "last meter" of work: retrieving items from autonomous mobile robots and placing them onto conveyor systems. This represents the most variable and challenging aspect of warehouse workflows, where simple wheeled robots or fixed-arm systems typically struggle, but where human adaptability naturally excels. Digit has now proven its capability to execute this work consistently and reliably across thousands of operational cycles.
The significance extends beyond single-day performance metrics. Moving 100,000 totes encompasses thousands of operational cycles under continuously changing conditions including variable loads, different work shifts, and fluctuating activity patterns within an active warehouse environment. By maintaining consistent performance across these diverse operational scenarios, Digit transitions from prototype status to something far more valuable: a dependable operational tool that companies can integrate into their core logistics operations.
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Competitive Landscape and Strategic Positioning
This achievement occurs within an increasingly competitive humanoid robotics market. Rival company Figure recently announced that its fleet processed approximately 90,000 sheet-metal components, while several other robotics companies globally are also announcing progress in industrial deployments. By being first to publish clear, high-volume performance metrics in logistics environments, Agility Robotics provides investors and operators with concrete evidence that its humanoid platform can sustain heavy, repetitive work operations consistently over extended periods.
Safety considerations represent another crucial development theme. Digit operates alongside human workers rather than in isolated, fenced areas. This requires the system to be trusted not only for box movement capabilities, but also for maintaining worker safety throughout operations. The milestones achieved at GXO demonstrate that effective human-robot collaboration is achievable, which becomes essential for widespread humanoid deployment on warehouse floors rather than restricted test environments.
The underlying technology relies heavily on artificial intelligence systems that enable Digit's operational capabilities: computer vision for object recognition, dynamic balance systems for natural movement in busy, changing environments, and sophisticated manipulation skills for picking, stacking, and transferring items that vary in position and orientation. This integration of software and hardware allows general-purpose humanoids to handle multiple workflow types, instead of being limited to single, pre-programmed tasks like many traditional industrial robots.
The Last Meter Advantage and Operational Integration
Warehouses represent complex ecosystems where autonomous mobile robots handle long-distance transport, fixed robotic arms manage precise positioning tasks, and humanoid robots like Digit address the challenging "last meter" operations. This final segment involves the transitional work where goods change hands between systems, from mobile robots to conveyors, from carts to shelving, or between sorting areas. Traditional robots either roll or reach within fixed parameters, but Digit walks, bends, and manipulates objects within the same operational spaces humans occupy, effectively bridging the gap between mobile and stationary automation systems.
The "last meter" workflow represents where most automation implementations encounter limitations. This zone involves boxes that may be misaligned, totes that do not stop in identical positions, and shared spaces where humans and machines must coexist. It represents the transitional zone that often requires human intervention, even in highly automated facilities. By managing this operational space, Digit unlocks the full potential of surrounding automated systems, allowing mobile robots to operate without requiring humans at drop-off stations and enabling conveyors to function without constant manual loading.
Partnership between robotics manufacturers and logistics operators proves essential for advancing these technologies. GXO's comprehensive initiative to evaluate humanoid workforces, involving multiple robotics companies, creates real-world testing environments for these machines. Within this operational context, Agility Robotics distinguishes itself by delivering measurable, production-grade performance that signals the beginning of industrial-scale humanoid adoption across logistics operations.
Strategic Value and Future Implications
The strategic value of general-purpose humanoids lies in their flexibility compared to specialized automation systems. Traditional warehouse robots excel within narrow parameters: autonomous mobile robots for long-distance transport and fixed arms for precise repetitive motions. Digit fills operational gaps where layouts become complex, spaces are constrained, and workflows change frequently. This makes it a truly general-purpose platform that can be deployed across multiple tasks without requiring complete warehouse redesign, allowing operators to reassign the same humanoid between different workflows as operational needs evolve.
Human-robot collaboration emerges as a central theme, with Digit handling the most repetitive and physically demanding tasks while human workers manage decision-making, exception handling, and higher-level operational oversight. This collaborative approach transforms humanoids into intelligent force multipliers rather than direct workforce replacements. The proven ability to function safely in active warehouse environments without endangering workers demonstrates that humanoid robots can integrate into existing operations rather than requiring completely isolated operational zones.
This collaboration provides valuable development feedback loops where logistics operators supply real-world challenges and performance data, while robotics companies use this information to refine artificial intelligence systems for vision, balance, and object manipulation. Over time, this partnership approach makes humanoids smarter, safer, and more capable while providing operators with continuously improving operational tools that represent genuine strategic advantages in competitive logistics markets.
Agility’s ‘hardest working’ humanoid robot hits 100,000-tote milestone
Agility Robotics announced that Digit has moved more than 100,000 totes in live warehouse operations at GXO’s Georgia site.
Sujita Sinha
