Agility targets nine minute charging for Digit 5 humanoid

Agility Robotics plans to equip its next generation Digit 5 humanoid with Nyobolt batteries that it says can support around 90 minutes of work after nine minutes of charging, according to heise.de. The company expects the system to enable more than 20 hours of operation a day. First customer deliveries are planned for the first half of 2027.

The claimed Digit 5 charging performance would give the robot a 10:1 ratio of working time to charging time, compared with 2:1 for Digit 4, heise reported. At the older ratio, charging occupied roughly a third of the robot’s combined working and charging time. Reducing that interruption is a concrete route to higher fleet utilization, which Agility says will improve the robot’s economics for business users. Nyobolt’s batteries are described as lightweight, with high power density and the ability to withstand many charging cycles. The companies have not quantified battery cycle life, a relevant measure when frequent charging is central to the operating model.

Fast charging is not the only approach humanoid manufacturers are pursuing. Heise points to UBTech’s Walker S2, which uses a system that lets the robot replace its own battery with a charged one. Agility’s announced approach instead centers on shortening charging stops for Digit 5. Following the initial customer deliveries in the first half of 2027, the robot is expected to become more widely available over the subsequent six to nine months, according to heise.

Source: heise online