Show Notes
Exciting news from Agility Robotics: - Digit v5 is coming in 2026 - Digit will be the first humanoid working "out of the cage" - 20-hour humanoids ... they'll be able to work for 20 hours - swappable hands AKA end effectors - and much more!
Humanoid robots are advancing fast, but Agility Robotics says the biggest obstacle to large-scale deployment isn't AI, dexterity, or even battery life. It's safety.
In this episode of Humanoid Daily, John Koetsier talks with Agility Robotics' chief business officer Daniel Diez about the next generation of Digit, including the company's plan to deploy what it calls a cooperatively safe humanoid robot that can operate in close proximity to people without traditional safety cages.
They discuss Digit v5, expected for early customers in December 2026, as well as new battery technology designed to enable more than 20 hours of operation per day, rapid charging, interchangeable end effectors, autonomous tool swapping, improved manipulation, and the dynamic stability required for real industrial environments.
Daniel also explains what Agility has learned from commercial deployments, including its work at Schaeffler in South Carolina, why raw robot speed isn't necessarily the most important productivity metric, and how the company thinks about ROI compared with the fully burdened cost of human labor.
Plus, they dig into what cooperative safety could mean for new jobs and industries, how Agility approaches autonomy without routine teleoperation, and what becoming a public company could mean for transparency and accountability across the humanoid robotics industry.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Why safety cages are holding humanoid robots back 00:18 Agility Robotics and commercial humanoid deployments 01:03 Competing in a crowded humanoid robotics market 02:13 The real barrier to large-scale humanoid deployment 02:36 When cooperatively safe Digit robots arrive 04:26 Where Digit fits in the humanoid robotics market 05:12 Why Agility started with material handling 06:11 Three major lessons shaping Digit V5 06:41 20+ hour battery life and three-shift operation 07:10 Swappable end effectors and dexterous manipulation 07:55 Why you don't see Digit dancing onstage 08:27 Digit's dynamic stability and actuator technology 09:21 Can humanoid robots operate all day without overheating? 09:58 Digit swapping its own hands and tools 10:38 Why Digit doesn't require routine teleoperation 11:07 What's changing from Digit V4 to V5? 12:25 Robot speed versus real-world productivity 12:55 Digit's deployment at Schaeffler 14:45 Working safely alongside humans 15:55 New industries cooperative safety could unlock 16:57 What becoming a public company changes 18:50 Humanoid robotics valuations and commercial reality 20:21 Agility's AI and control stack 20:46 What to expect from Agility over the next 18 months 21:31 Digit V5 launch timing
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