The Robot Report

  • Home
  • News
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
    • Research
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Humanoids
    • Industrial
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Business
    • Financial
      • Investments
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Earnings
    • Markets
      • Agriculture
      • Healthcare
      • Logistics
      • Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Security
    • RBR50
      • RBR50 Winners 2025
      • RBR50 Winners 2024
      • RBR50 Winners 2023
      • RBR50 Winners 2022
      • RBR50 Winners 2021
  • Resources
    • Automated Warehouse Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • eBooks
    • Publications
      • Automated Warehouse
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
    • Robotics Weeks
  • Podcast
    • Episodes
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Agility Robotics’ Digit adds arms to Cassie’s bipedal design

By Eugene Demaitre | February 27, 2019

Agility Robotics' Digit adds arms to Cassie's bipedal design

The Digit bipedal robot could be used for last-step deliveries. Source: Agility Robotics

Despite recent advances with bipedal robots, most are not graceful, and they have not been able manipulate objects with the dexterity of stationary robotic arms. Agility Robotics Inc. yesterday unveiled Digit, which builds on the design of its ostrich-like Cassie robot.

Digit includes an upper torso, more sensors, and additional computing capabilities. Most importantly, it has two arms with four degrees of freedom. These arms are useful for mobility as well as for grasping.

“For us [humans], arms are simultaneously a tool for moving through the world — think getting up after a fall, waving your arms for balance, or pushing open a door — while also being useful for manipulating or carrying objects,” stated Jonathan Hurst, co-founder and chief technology officer of Albany, Ore.-based Agility Robotics.

Editor’s note: Agility Robotics CEO Damion Shelton and Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Raibert spoke at last year’s Robotics Summit. Register now for this year’s Robotics Summit & Expo, which will be on June 5 and 6 in Boston.

For robots to be useful in spaces designed for humans, they need to be more nimble, perceptive, and robust, Hurst said in IEEE Spectrum. Even though robot designs have been modeled after the behavior of bipeds such as birds, understanding gait is more of a challenge than computing or power, he said.

Hurst’s team at Oregon State University worked with researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Michigan on the ATRIAS biped, which used passive dynamics and a spring-mass system to address the challenges of bipedal locomotion.

He later developed Cassie on the same principles and included motion planning. Agility’s simulation software can help developers evaluate Cassie’s capabilities.

Digit has brains and brawn for delivery

Digit’s arms can help it balance or pick itself up after a fall, and it adds perception to operate in range of environments. It was designed with certain commercial applications in mind, such as stacking boxes in warehouses and delivering parcels to customers’ doorsteps.

Agility Robotics noted that while Digit is still in testing, the robot is capable of picking up and stacking boxes weighing up to 40 lb. (18 kg).

On the controls side, Digit’s torso includes two multi-core CPUs and a modular bay for systems for perception and machine learning. The robot’s application programming interface (API) can be controlled onboard or via a wireless link.

While Cassie initially had some difficulty with stairs, Digit has advanced footstep planning. Agility Robotics claimed that users can set up the robot and get it running out of the box in only five minutes.

“Most of our Cassie customers were specifically interested in developing controllers for legged locomotion,” said Damion Shelton, co-founder and CEO of Agility. “We developed Digit for the much larger audience of users who wish to explore broader applications that are enabled through legged mobility, rather than focusing only on the mobility itself.”

Availability and expectations

Agility Robotics' Digit is designed with deliveries in mind.

Digit adds a torso and arms to Cassie’s successful design. Source: Agility Robotics

Agility Robotics, which raised $8 million last spring, said it will announce pricing for Digit midyear. It plans to begin deliveries in the first quarter of 2020 and will offer warranty support and applications engineering assistance.

Legged and humanoid robots are not suitable for every task, but they are what many people think of when they discuss robots. Legged robots could be useful in locations not designed for industrial automation, ultimately bringing automation to households.

Ocado Technology’s ARMAR-6 and the INNFOS XR-1 have humanoid torsos, but they still rely on wheels, which are energy efficient but limit mobility. Boston Dynamics’ videos of its acrobatic Atlas humanoid remain popular, and it plans to offer its quadruped SpotMini for sale this year.

Last fall, Toyota Motor Corp. demonstrated remote control of its T-HR-3 humanoid robot over a 5G network. UBTECH Robotics Inc. showed off its Walker bipedal service robot at CES 2019.

The humanoid robot market could grow from $320.3 million in 2017 to $3.9 billion in 2025, said Markets and Markets. The work to refine bipedal robots to the point where they can walk where humans do and easily manipulate objects continues, with Digit as a step forward.

About The Author

Eugene Demaitre

Eugene Demaitre is editorial director of the robotics group at WTWH Media. He was senior editor of The Robot Report from 2019 to 2020 and editorial director of Robotics 24/7 from 2020 to 2023. Prior to working at WTWH Media, Demaitre was an editor at BNA (now part of Bloomberg), Computerworld, TechTarget, and Robotics Business Review.

Demaitre has participated in robotics webcasts, podcasts, and conferences worldwide. He has a master's from the George Washington University and lives in the Boston area.

Tell Us What You Think! Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles Read More >

The SCHURTER UHP Fuse.
SCHURTER releases UHP high-current SMD fuse for humanoids
headshot of Cam Myers of CreateMe and the robot report podcast logo.
How robotics is changing the apparel industry
NEXCOM is working with NVIDIA on AI robot safety.
NEXCOM NexCOBOT unit joins NVIDIA Halos AI Systems Inspection Lab
A person wearing a Wandercraft exoskeleton catching a ball thrown to them by a woman in white.
Wandercraft raises $75M to scale exoskeletons, humanoids

RBR50 Innovation Awards

“rr
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, tools and strategies for Robotics Professionals.
The Robot Report Listing Database

Latest Episode of The Robot Report Podcast

Automated Warehouse Research Reports

Sponsored Content

  • Sager Electronics and its partners, logos shown here, will exhibit at the 2025 Robotics Summit & Expo. Sager Electronics to exhibit at the Robotics Summit & Expo
  • The Shift in Robotics: How Visual Perception is Separating Winners from the Pack
  • An AutoStore automated storage and retrieval grid. Webinar to provide automated storage and retrieval adoption advice
  • Smaller, tougher devices for evolving demands
  • Modular motors and gearboxes make product development simple
The Robot Report
  • Automated Warehouse
  • RoboBusiness Event
  • Robotics Summit & Expo
  • About The Robot Report
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search The Robot Report

  • Home
  • News
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
    • Research
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Humanoids
    • Industrial
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Business
    • Financial
      • Investments
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Earnings
    • Markets
      • Agriculture
      • Healthcare
      • Logistics
      • Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Security
    • RBR50
      • RBR50 Winners 2025
      • RBR50 Winners 2024
      • RBR50 Winners 2023
      • RBR50 Winners 2022
      • RBR50 Winners 2021
  • Resources
    • Automated Warehouse Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • eBooks
    • Publications
      • Automated Warehouse
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
    • Robotics Weeks
  • Podcast
    • Episodes
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe