in robofab, humans & robots will work together to produce 10,000 humanoid robots per year

Robofab’s world-first humanoid robot factory in oregon

Buckle up as Agility Robotics, the creators of the bipedal robot Digit, unveils the news that it is opening the world’s first humanoid robot factory named RoboFab in Salem, Oregon. The factory plans to produce 10,000 humanoid robots per year once it starts operating later in 2023. The robot manufacturing facility began construction in 2022, and its square foot robot factory will soon be introduced to the public and its other already-made Digit robots.

As soon as it opens, Agility Robotics hopes to target a production capacity of hundreds of Digit robots in the first year, with the capability to scale to more than 10,000 robots per year. At full capacity, RoboFab says it will employ more than 500 workers in Salem in addition to employees at Agility’s other locations. Both humans and robots will work in RoboFab, and these humanoid bots in the clockwork, and quite literally, will help people move, load, and unload equipment, materials, and other objects.

images by Agility Robotics

Humanoid robots might become available starting 2025

With the opening of RoboFab later in 2023, customers who are part of the Agility Partner Program (APP) can expect delivery of the first Digits in 2024 with general market availability in 2025. ‘The opening of our factory marks a pivotal moment in the history of robotics: the beginning of the mass production of commercial humanoid robots,’ says Damion Shelton, Agility Robotics’ co-founder and CEO. ‘When you’re building new technology to make society better, the most important milestone is when you’re able to mass-produce that technology at a scale where it can have a real, widespread impact.’

Damion Shelton adds that the tech team built the robot Digit to solve the problems in today’s workforce such as injuries, burnout, high turnover, and unfillable labor gaps. They hope that with the robot’s arrival and advent, they can let people ‘be more human.’ Digit is devised with a human-centric design so that it (or they?) can help people with laborious tasks such as bulk material handling within warehouses and distribution centers. They can be buddy helpers and join where people work to do useful work.

RoboFab is dubbed the world’s first humanoid robot factory

What we know about Digit so far

Agility Robotics says that its robots are not designed to mimic people but to create machines that can work with them. To realize that, Digit can move totes and packages, unload trailers, and go door-to-door for last-minute deliveries. When the humanoid robot walks, it can also lean forward, backward, and on its side. It can turn in place, incline up and down, and cross terrains such as grass, rocks, and curbs. Digit also detects when there is someone in its line of sight and either stops or navigates around them. The humanoid robot can crouch and squat and is able to pick up and put down objects of varying size and weight.

With the opening of RoboFab, the number of fully functional humanoid robots will increase, and many Digits may be able to support people in their manual labor. Agility Robotics COO Aindrea Campbell, who is leading the scaling of RoboFab and Agility’s manufacturing and corporate operations, says that ‘by establishing RoboFab as a state-of-the-art manufacturing hub in Salem, Oregon, we are not only accelerating the development and deployment of advanced robotic systems but also cultivating innovation and creating high-skilled job opportunities. With the capability to produce Digit at scale, we are poised to change the future of work for the better.’

RoboFab plans to produce 10,000 humanoid robots or Digits per year