Agility Robotics is set to open a 60,000-square-foot facility in Fremont, California, to train its humanoid robots. The location is just up the highway from Tesla’s planned factory for its Optimus robots. The move positions Agility in close proximity to Tesla, which has increasingly focused on its Optimus project, with Elon Musk calling it 'the biggest product ever' once it becomes useful outside the company next year. The facility will be used to accelerate the company’s robotic deployments and train its six-foot-tall Digit robot in environments similar to those it will encounter in the field.
Agility’s Digit robot is already generating revenue by carrying totes and bins in manufacturing and warehouse settings for customers like Amazon, GXO, Schaeffler, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. The company has secured $300 million in contract orders for its robots and claims that Digits have moved 100,000 totes at a GXO logistics facility. CEO Peggy Johnson emphasized that the presence of Tesla in the area is a positive development, as it allows Agility to share the space with other companies in the humanoid robotics field.
Founded in 2015, Agility is trying to capitalize on its lead over newer AI-inspired robotic startups like Figure, 1X, the Bot Company, or Sunday Robotics. The company is taking a practical approach to autonomy, avoiding generative AI for safety-critical systems. Instead, it is leveraging AI to scale operations and address the challenge of coding applications for the robot. Agility is not planning to offer in-home humanoid robots anytime soon, as most experts believe current robots are not safe enough for consumer use. The version 5 of Digit, expected to be unveiled this fall, will have the ability to sense humans and operate in mixed environments.
Source: techcrunch
