Agility’s new humanoid robot will stop, squat to avoid harming human coworkers
Robots can start working outside physical cages and without safety barriers.
Agility Robotics unveiled its inaugural humanoid robot capable of safely collaborating with human coworkers without posing any risk of injury. Such safety mechanisms could pave the way for the proliferation of such robots in warehouses and automotive factories, eliminating the need for enclosed work cells and physical barriers to separate humans from machines.
When Agility's innovative Digit 5 robot detects a person in its vicinity, it can proactively take preventive measures, such as altering its trajectory to avoid the individual or remaining stationary so the human can pass by freely. In the event that a person approaches too closely, Digit 5 has the capability to adopt a squatting posture, effectively assuming a seated position, to ensure the utmost safety.
Pras Velagapudi, Agility's chief technology officer, explained to Ars that the robot features a sophisticated safe motion system that can employ a range of mitigations based on the specific nature of the human presence it detects.
Written by urgent.news from Ars Technica's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
