Mercado Libre, a leading commerce and fintech ecosystem in Latin America, has signed an agreement to integrate Agility Robotics’ Digit humanoid into its facility in San Antonio, Texas. Mercado Libre uses other types of warehouse robots at other facilities, but this appears to be its first foray into humanoids.
Unfortunately, the companies didn’t say much about what Digit will actually be doing. We also don’t know how many robots are being deployed or whether this is a temporary pilot or actual deployment.
Agility and Mercado Libre only said that Digit will initially focus on tasks that support commerce fulfillment and that they plan to explore additional use cases for how humanoids can augment logistics operations in Latin America.
Digit Skill Library focuses on tote handling
Chances are Digit will be moving totes for Mercado Libre. The robot’s Skill Library is focused entirely on tote handling, which is also how it has been used by customers like GXO Logistics and Schaeffler.
Digit has moved more than 100,000 totes at GXO’s Flowery Branch facility in Georgia. The milestone included the handling of varied tasks within the same workflow, from transferring totes between autonomous mobile robots and conveyors to stacking totes in different locations.
Digit was first deployed with GXO in June 2024. This is widely considered to be the first deployment of a humanoid at a commercial customer site. Digit is 5 ft. 9 in. (5.7 m) tall, weighs 140 lb. (63.5 kg), and can lift up to 35 lb. (15.8 kg). It features autonomous docking and charging and has end effectors that are customizable.
Mercado Libre tests logistics innovation with Agility
“At Mercado Libre, we are constantly exploring how emerging technologies can elevate our operations and improve the experience for our employees and millions of users,” said Agustin Costa, senior vice president of shipping at Mercado Libre.
“Our partnership with Agility Robotics and the deployment of Digit in our facilities is a significant step forward in our vision to create a safer, more efficient, and adaptable logistics network,” he added. “We are excited to test how humanoid robotics can complement our team’s capabilities and drive the next evolution of commerce in Latin America.”
Late last month, Digit received OSHA-recognized Nationally Recognized Test Lab (NRTL) approval. Agility Robotics said the compliance milestone has enabled it to expand Digit’s applications from automated putwalls to new tote-recycling workflows, and it opens the door to even more complex use cases.
“We are incredibly proud to be partnering with Mercado Libre to support their workforce and operations through the deployment of Agility’s humanoid robot Digit,” said Daniel Diez, chief business officer of Agility Robotics. “Mercado Libre has demonstrated that it is a true innovator in both commerce and fintech and we are excited to partner with them to integrate our autonomous humanoid robots capable of performing meaningful work and delivering real value into their facilities.
Agility Robotics was named The Robot Report‘s inaugural Robot of the Year in 2024. This story will be updated if we learn more information.
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