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Agility Co-founder: Digit Abandoned Delivery to Pivot to Warehouse Handling
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In an IEEE RAS interview, Agility Robotics co-founder Damion Shelton reviewed the commercialization path of the Digit humanoid robot: the company had once partnered with Ford to explore last-mile delivery, but abandoned it because humanoid robots depend on autonomous driving, an equally difficult deep-tech problem, and instead focused on internal material handling in warehouses within closed environments. Shelton said Digit was always positioned for bulk material handling, which is why the company pivoted to in-warehouse tasks. He also said he is currently less optimistic about home robots. Shelton is currently Executive Director of the CMU Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship.
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- Agility Robotics co-founder Damion Shelton on the path to humanoid robot commercialization
IEEE RAS interviewed Damion Shelton, co-founder of Agility Robotics and executive director of CMU's Swartz Center, who recounted how Digit chose its first commercial scenario: it once worked with Ford to explore last-mile delivery, but abandoned that because humanoid robots depend on autonomous driving, another deep-tech challenge, and instead focused on in-warehouse material handling in closed environments.
IEEE RAS ·