Digit 5 Robot Cuts Charging Time to Nine Minutes for Longer Warehouse Shifts

Agility Robotics has unveiled Digit 5, a humanoid robot designed to work alongside humans in warehouses and manufacturing plants. The machine, developed in Salem, Oregon, is built to lift loads repeatedly and operate for extended periods without the long breaks typical of previous battery-powered equipment.

The key feature of this fifth-generation model is its power management. While the battery provides 90 minutes of active work, it recharges in just nine minutes. This rapid cycle allows the robot to potentially work for over 20 hours a day, provided it returns to its dock regularly. This update addresses customer demands for greater payload capacity and longer operating hours without requiring physical barriers between the robot and workers.

Redesigned legs support heavier loads

The most visible change is in the robot's lower body. The backward-bending, bird-like legs of the previous model have been replaced with joints that bend in a more human-like direction. This allows Digit 5 to crouch, kneel, and pick up cargo without striking its ankles against the floor. The new design uses proprietary cycloidal actuators to support a 40 percent increase in payload capacity, enabling the 284-pound robot to lift 50 pounds repeatedly.

Safety is integrated into the physical design, with knee pads that support the robot when it kneels. It can also enter a seated position and shut down its motors, allowing workers to approach it safely. The reach has grown from 5.5 feet to 7.2 feet, yet the machine remains compact enough to pass through standard doorways and navigate spaces built for people.

Safety standards and modular tools

Agility states that Digit 5 is the first humanoid designed to undergo field evaluation against OSHA industrial safety standards. The company is working with partners to establish safety guidelines in the US, Canada, and through ISO. NVIDIA is the first launch partner for the safety stack, using its IGX Thor and Halos for Robotics platforms to develop a new safety controller and certification pathway.

The robot features 30 motors with controls operating around 1,000 times per second. Its ISO-standard grippers can be swapped for other tools, such as a claw-like hand for handling large bins. This modularity, combined with software that coordinates with conveyors and other autonomous robots, allows one machine to perform various tasks, from unloading pallets to loading them.

Production capacity and market readiness

Agility has reported more than $300 million in conditional commitments for Digit 5 as of May 2026. Early access is planned for the first half of 2027, with wider availability later that year. Production will occur at the company’s 70,000-square-foot RoboFab facility, which has the capacity to produce up to 10,000 robots annually.

This launch follows three years of customer deployments with the previous model, where feedback drove the redesign of the hardware, power system, and safety architecture. The goal is to provide a versatile workforce supplement that can integrate seamlessly into existing industrial environments without significant infrastructure changes.