Nothing at all Others such as Digit on the ProMat floor last year. In recent years, the manufacturing supply chain event has gradually evolved into a technology exhibition. Many of the biggest names in the field were in attendance, demonstrating autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), bin picking arms, and automated storage and retrieval systems. But Agility’s bipedal robot army is the topic that everyone is talking about.
A year later, the conversation has changed. The concept of humanoid robots working in factories no longer feels like a distant fantasy. Of course, this is also confirmed by the $675 million raised by competitor Figure last week. Interest in humanoid robots is at an all-time high, and deep-pocketed investors no longer dismiss it as a pipe dream.
Footage captured at last March’s event was widely shared online, exposing Agility’s robots to its largest audience yet. These demonstrations captured some of the fundamentals of the world of industrial robotics, as highly complex and technically impressive robots repeated the same boring activities over and over again – in this case, moving suitcases back and forth between walls and conveyor belts. It was here, Agility co-founder Damion Shelton said, that the then-CEO began exploring succession plans.
“When we passed ProMat last year, I really felt like, ‘Okay, this company is very different now than when we started it,'” Shelton told TechCrunch. “This is really the first time we’ve publicly shown a robot at work, but frankly, it’s also the first time anyone has shown a humanoid robot. [robots] work. So that was really the catalyst. We launched the search process last August. “
Two months before the event, Agility hired Apple/iPad veteran Aindrea Campbell as operating officer to handle the company’s rapidly expanding manufacturing plans. Four months later, Shelton co-founder Jonathan Hurst resigned as chief technology officer (CTO) to take the more research-focused role of chief robotics officer. Melonee Wise replaces Hurst, who most recently worked at Zebra after the company acquired her AMR startup Fetch.
Toronto, Canada – May 21, 2019; Peggy Johnson, Executive Vice President of Business Development at Microsoft, takes center stage during the first day of Collision 2019 at the Enercare Center in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
This week, Agility named Microsoft veteran Peggy Johnson its second chief executive. As a result, the company may be unique among its peers in having female executives holding three of the most senior-level positions. Unlike Wise, Johnson lacks her predecessor’s robotics background. However, she does have a long history in the tech world. She began her career at mobile chip giant Qualcomm, where she ultimately spent a quarter of a century.
She spent the next six years at Microsoft, helping lead the HoloLens team—a position she parlayed into becoming Magic Leap’s CEO. She spent three years there turning the well-funded but troubled augmented reality company from consumer games to enterprise applications. As of this writing, the success of this particular effort remains an open question.
After the announcement yesterday, Johnson joined Shelton and myself on a call. She had run the Tokyo Marathon the day before, but we managed to find a short period that coincided with all three time zones. Johnson reflects on the similarities and differences between Agile and her previous work.
“It’s similar in that it’s a very exciting product and technology and there’s a demand and demand for it,” she explained. “The difference is that Agility found product-market fit, and that’s really what attracted me to it. Today, right now, Digit can provide customers with an ROI. They don’t want to boil the ocean. They just focus on There are a handful of use cases where Digit can provide value.”
Perhaps the biggest difference between Agility and the growing field of humanoid robotics startups is its massive head start. The company was founded in 2015 as a spin-off of Hurst’s legged robotics research at Oregon State University. Four years later, Digit made its public debut at CES as part of a partnership with Ford. At that time, Agility believed that last-mile delivery was the most logical solution for the market. However, the deal went nowhere as the company pivoted into the booming field of warehouse automation.
Image Source: Mark Rennertson/Photography/Flickr (Opens in new window) Under CC BY 2.0 (Opens in new window) license.
The Oregon-based company currently has more than 200 employees. The company hasn’t disclosed how many Digits it has shipped, noting only that it built about 60 units of the early version.
During our conversation, Shelton mentioned the Digit’s ability to traverse uneven terrain, adding, “I hope we can get back to things like last-mile delivery at some point.” For now, however, warehouse jobs are The main focus of the robot. Specifically, the robot is capable of moving suitcases of various shapes and sizes across the floor. That’s exactly how robots will be deployed in some of the pilot programs Amazon announced last year.
“It’s going very well,” Shelton said. “We are excited to continue working with them, but there have been no major updates since last fall’s event.
Johnson said Digit’s ability to get the job done today was a big driver in her decision to lead the company after first speaking with Shelton more than a month ago. “Looking at Agility from an outside perspective, I love their focus on the here and now,” she explains. “What can robots do today to create value? Obviously, there’s a feature roadmap ahead that has artificial intelligence elements, that has hardware elements, that has software elements, but as far as today is concerned, value is being delivered right now, and they’re right. as [Shelton] Say, there’s really no one else doing what Agility is doing for customers today. “
Part of the reference to artificial intelligence comes from the work the company recently demonstrated, using its LL.M. to help Digit adapt to the changing real world before it. There’s no doubt that interest in the category has been a major driver of investor interest because of the potential impact it has on how robots learn and interact with the world.
Although Agility is not explicitly seeking financing at this time, the company said the possibility is always there. “The data points are there,” Johnson said of Figure’s recent eye-popping $2.6 billion valuation. “All boats rise with headlines like this and we’re definitely going to take advantage of that.”
Shelton is quick to point out that Agility was last valued in a funding round about three years ago.
