Agility Robotics unveils Digit 5 humanoid robot ahead of SPAC listing

Agility Robotics unveiled Digit 5, its latest humanoid robot, as the firm advances plans to go public via a proposed SPAC merger with Churchill Capital Corp. XI.

Agility Robotics unveils Digit 5 humanoid robot ahead of SPAC listing

Digit 5 features new legs, upgraded batteries and a more comprehensive safety architecture, and can work in close proximity to people without physical safety barriers, Agility said. CEO Peggy Johnson said“a major barrier to scaling humanoid robots in industrial environments,” adding that the market has responded with more than $300 million in multi-year orders across manufacturing, warehousing and logistics. Agility reported $1.8 million in net sales in 2025, according to a recent SEC filing.

The company expects early access to Digit 5 in the first half of 2027 and general availability for manufacturing, warehouse and distribution operators by the end of 2027. It plans to make the robot commercially available outside North America for the first time, starting with the European Union and the United Kingdom, and expects CE and additional regulatory marks for market access to the EU, Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Digit 5 is taller and heavier than earlier models, at 129 kg and 1.81 meters, with a reach of 2.2 meters. It replaces Agility’s ostrich-like backward knees with more human-like legs, powered by proprietary cycloidal actuators that can repeatedly lift up to 22.7 kg, covering single-person lift tasks in OSHA-regulated facilities. A faster charger allows 90 minutes of operation and a full charge in nine minutes, a 10:1 run-to-charge ratio versus 2:1 for Digit 4, enabling more than 20 hours of work in a 24-hour day.

The robot has swappable end effectors with ISO-standard mounting flanges. Agility is using a two-fingered parallel-jaw gripper, which can handle 25-kg bins. Co-founder and Chief Robot Officer Jonathan Hurst said general-purpose grippers do not yet exist, but the company would buy better hands if available.

For safety, Digit 5 uses proprietary algorithms and multiple sensors to monitor people within a 360-degree radius, with visual and auditory cues and an independent safety controller. It can autonomously avoid, stop or assume a seated position and turn off its motors when a person approaches, Agility said. The robot remains integrated with Agility’s Arc cloud platform for fleet deployment and management.

Hurst said earlier versions of Digit were part of a proof-of-concept phase, including work with Amazon, where the company learned that completing tasks alone was not enough to deploy robots at scale. Deployment also requires FCC requirements, UL and ISO certifications and hundreds of engineering requirements, he said. Digit 5 was designed around 10 use cases and will expand from tote-based material handling to depalletizing, machine tending, kitting and sequencing, quality inspection and palletizing.

“It is not possible to take an existing robot, add a safety hat on it, and then have it operate safely,” Hurst said. “It is completely holistic. It touches every feature of the robot electrically, mechanically, sensors, computing, everything.”

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