Summary
Bloomberg Tech interviews Agility Robotics CEO Peggy Johnson about Digit 5, the company’s newest humanoid robot and the first in the industry designed to operate in close physical proximity to human workers without safety barriers. Previous-generation humanoids were confined to isolated work cells performing single repetitive tasks; Digit 5 can now move freely across an entire facility — from unloading pallets in receiving, through machine tending and quality control, to packing and outbound shipping — handling full end-to-end workflows.
The proximity safety system relies on 360-degree vision and real-time AI-powered human detection. When a person enters Digit 5’s safety radius, the robot automatically lowers itself to the ground and holds until the person clears, then stands and resumes work. Johnson frames the commercial case around structural labor shortages rather than displacement: over 400,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs went unfilled in 2025, a number projected to reach 1.9 million by 2033 as the workforce ages and younger workers move toward digital careers.
On the business side, Agility is going public via a SPAC merger — chosen for speed over a traditional IPO — with more than $300 million in multi-year committed orders already in place for Digit 5. Manufacturing is based in Salem, Oregon, with a supply chain intentionally anchored to U.S. and allied-nation suppliers to reduce geopolitical exposure. The company plans to progressively expand Digit 5’s skill set as deployment scales beyond current pilot installations.
📺 Source: Bloomberg Tech · Published September 15, 2026
🏷️ Format: Interview
