Agility Robotics Unveils Digit 5 Humanoid Built for Cage Free Work Alongside People

On September 15, 2026, Agility Robotics unveiled Digit 5, its first general-purpose humanoid robot engineered for cooperatively safe work at scale. The Salem, Oregon-based company said the robot can operate in close proximity to people without the physical safety barriers that traditional industrial automation requires. The launch marks a significant step for a company that has spent nearly three years commercially deploying its previous humanoid, Digit 4, across North American customer sites.

Agility Robotics is preparing to go public through a proposed SPAC merger with Churchill Capital Corp. XI, a transaction that values the company at $2.5 billion on a pre-money basis. The Robot Report reported on September 15, 2026, that Agility unveiled Digit 5 with new legs, upgraded batteries and a safety architecture that lets it work near people without protective barriers. The company has said it received more than $300 million in multi-year orders for Digit 5 as of May 2026, though those orders are subject to contractual milestones.

Digit 4, the predecessor robot, has mostly moved totes and has logged more than 65,000 hours at customers including GXO, Schaeffler, Amazon and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. Bloomberg reported on September 15, 2026, that the new humanoid is designed to conduct complex work such as loading materials onto equipment, sorting parts, sequencing and inspecting items. That is a step up from Digit 4, which was known for its ability to stack plastic bins.

The launch comes as the humanoid robotics industry is still working to prove that machines can be safe and productive at scale. Traditional industrial robots typically operate behind fencing or in roped-off areas away from workers. GeekWire reported on September 15, 2026, that Digit 5 is designed to work safely alongside people in warehouses and factories without the barriers usually required.

Key Facts

The most visible change in Digit 5 is its legs. Instead of the previous ostrich-like backwards knees, Digit 5 has more human-like legs powered by proprietary cycloidal actuators. This design enables repeated lifts up to 50 lb (22.7 kg), a 40% increase in payload compared with Digit 4, covering single-person lift tasks in OSHA-regulated facilities. The robot weighs 284 lb (129 kg), stands 5 ft 11 in and reaches up to 7.2 feet, up from 5.5 feet.

A new battery runs for 90 minutes and recharges autonomously in nine minutes, giving a 10:1 run-to-charge ratio, up from Digit 4's 2:1. That supports more than 20 hours of work in a 24-hour day. Digit 5 also adds depalletizing, machine tending, kitting, sequencing, inspection and palletizing to its task list. Its grippers, or end-effectors, can be swapped for different jobs using ISO-standard mounting flanges.

The safety architecture is built on Agility's claim that Digit became the first humanoid to pass an independent field evaluation on a customer production line for industrial safety standards administered by OSHA. Digit 5 detects people within a 360-degree radius and can avoid, stop or sit down in response. It provides visual and auditory cues to communicate its intent, and an independent safety controller can intervene when a person gets too close. PR Newswire reported on September 15, 2026, that the safety architecture includes safe human detection, safety cues and safe motion control.

Agility is the first launch partner for NVIDIA's Halos for Robotics platform, pairing its systems with NVIDIA IGX Thor and Halos Core infrastructure. GamesBeat reported on September 15, 2026, that Digit 5 will also use NVIDIA's Halos AI Systems Inspection Lab to accelerate its path to safety certification. Agility also contributes to ANSI/A3 TR R15.108 and to ISO 25785-1, the first international safety standard for the humanoid category.

On the business side, Agility generated $1.8 million in net sales in 2025, up from $310,000 the year before, while its loss from operations doubled to $140.2 million. Auditor Grant Thornton included a going-concern warning. Amazon, an early Agility investor, bought five Digit robots for $1.05 million, per Agility's S-4 filed this month. The $300 million in multi-year orders for Digit 5 come from one customer, for 1,000 robots over three years, described as a related party. RuntimeWire reported on September 15, 2026, that the SPAC transaction is expected to provide more than $620 million in gross proceeds.

Analysis

What this really means is that Agility is trying to shift humanoid robots from isolated work cells into shared human spaces, a move that could unlock far broader adoption. The physical safety barriers around traditional industrial automation are expensive to install and maintain, and they prevent the kind of flexible, rapidly reconfigurable workflows that modern warehouses need. By engineering Digit 5 for cooperatively safe operation, Agility is addressing the single biggest gating factor for humanoid deployment at scale.

But the financial picture is far from secure. The going-concern warning from Grant Thornton, a $140.2 million operating loss and just $1.8 million in net sales for 2025 show a company that is still pre-revenue at meaningful scale. The bigger picture here is that the SPAC merger with Churchill Capital Corp. XI is not just a growth accelerator; it is a lifeline. The $620 million in expected gross proceeds would fund operations through the early access and general availability phases, but only if redemptions do not gut the trust.

The $300 million order book deserves scrutiny. It is contingent on milestones, comes from a single related party, and covers 1,000 robots over three years. That is a significant commitment, but it is not the same as a diversified, firm backlog. Investors will want to see those orders convert to revenue and additional customers sign on. Schaeffler, for example, is moving from pilots to full-scale deployment, according to GamesBeat, which is a positive signal but not yet a guarantee of broad market demand.

Agility's strategic position is strengthened by its NVIDIA partnership and its work on safety standards. Being the first launch partner for Halos for Robotics gives Agility early access to NVIDIA's physical AI stack, and contributing to ISO 25785-1 lets Agility shape the rules that will govern its competitors. That is a classic platform play: if you cannot yet outscale rivals, you can at least define the sandbox they must play in.

Why It Matters

For warehouse and factory workers, a humanoid that can safely work nearby without a fence changes the daily reality of automation. Digit 5's repeated 50-pound lift capability covers single-person lift tasks that are often associated with musculoskeletal injuries. If the robot can reliably handle those lifts, it could reduce injury risk while freeing human workers for tasks that require judgment, dexterity or customer interaction. That is a meaningful shift from the current model, where robots and people are kept apart.

For the humanoid industry, Digit 5 is a proof point that commercial deployment can move beyond simple material handling. The 65,000-plus hours logged by Digit 4 provide a base of operational data that few competitors can match. If Digit 5 delivers on its safety and productivity promises, it could accelerate adoption across manufacturing, warehousing and logistics, and it could set a template for how humanoids are certified and sold in Europe and the UK, where Agility will sell for the first time starting with a CE mark.

For investors, the launch is a high-stakes test of whether a pre-revenue robotics company can use public markets to bridge the gap to scale. The SPAC provides capital, but it also brings quarterly scrutiny and the risk of redemption pressure. The going-concern warning is a clear signal that time is not unlimited. Agility must convert its order pipeline, ramp production at RoboFab and prove that cooperatively safe humanoids are not just a technical achievement but a commercially viable product.

Next Up

Early access to Digit 5 is expected in the first half of 2027, with general availability for manufacturing, warehouse and distribution operators by the end of 2027. Agility plans to sell the robot outside North America for the first time, starting with the EU and UK with a CE mark. The company will also continue its work on safety certifications, including through NVIDIA's Halos AI Systems Inspection Lab, and will likely announce additional customer deployments as it moves from early access to full production.

The SPAC merger with Churchill Capital Corp. XI remains pending. Churchill's Form S-4 was filed and accepted by the SEC on September 4, 2026, and the transaction is expected to close after a shareholder vote. Agility's ability to scale its RoboFab factory in Salem, a 70,000-square-foot facility designed for up to 10,000 robots per year and 500 or more employees, will be a key indicator of whether the company can meet demand and deliver on its $300 million order book.