I live in a neighborhood with a lot of delivery bots, and I can’t stand having to move even one inch out of the way to let one pass. If robots must be around, I would ideally like them to avoid making their presence known at all. With that in mind, the folks at Agility Robotics are on the right track with their new Digit 5 humanoid robot, perhaps the first humanoid robot programed to strenuously avoid getting in the way of human beings.
Watch how it ducks down low in what may not be, but nonetheless looks like, a display of deep respect for humanity:
Speaking to Ars Technica, Agility’s chief technology officer, Pras Velagapudi, said Digit 5 “was designed with a complex safe motion system that can take a variety of different mitigations depending on exactly what sort of human presence is detected.”
According to Agility’s September 15 press release for Digit 5, the robot makes use of “proprietary AI algorithms and multiple sensor technologies to continuously monitor for people and take appropriate action by autonomously avoiding, stopping or assuming a seated position.”
It’s clear from the release, which boasts about “65,000 hours of operation and commercial deployments,” that Agility wants its devices to be perceived as ready for normal workplaces, and it frequently name checks the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in marketing materials. In November of last year, an earlier version of Digit—one you might remember for it’s unsettlingly satyr-like backwards knees—was subjected to a safety test touted by a company release as “OSHA-recognized.” It apparently passed that inspection.
As humanoid robots have come to prominence—particularly those Unitree robots that dazzle audiences with pre-programmed dancing and martial arts movements—it’s become common to see clips on social media of humanoids hurting people. If they’re going to be legitimately useful for companies like Hyundai who say they plan to mingle humans and humanoid robots in workplaces, the companies (and their insurers) really do need to be confident that the robots won’t be an OSHA nightmare.
Agility’s release quotes CEO Peggy Johnson as saying her company is “removing a major barrier to scaling humanoid robots in industrial environments.”
And the robot itself is not just designed to duck when a human gets near. The release makes it sound ready to work, with a 90-minute battery life, and the ability to lift 50-pounds and reach shelves up to 7.2 feet high.
Currently, it’s not uncommon for robots in workplaces to be sequestered in cages with elaborate, multi-step locking and shutdown procedures. Judging from the elaborate safety maneuvers on display from Digit 5, it’s taking an awful lot to convince companies that it’s okay to free the humanoid robots from their cages.
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