Agility and FORT Formed Humanoid Safety Partnership
The companies have partnered to build an advanced safety system for the Digit 5 humanoid robot.
Updated on Oct. 6, 2026 in Robotics
Live Poll
Do you support the integration of humanoid robots into shared workspaces alongside human employees?
Agility Robotics and FORT Robotics have launched a strategic partnership to develop specialized safety architecture for the Digit 5 humanoid robot. This system aims to enable safe cooperation between humans and robots within industrial settings.
Why it matters
Ensuring robots can operate reliably alongside humans is a major barrier to widespread industrial automation. This collaboration addresses that challenge by integrating offboard communications and manual safety interfaces to manage robot motion in shared spaces.
The safety architecture features a dedicated safety pendant for maintenance and an Offboard Safety Bridge that links the robot to external industrial systems. These tools provide manual override capabilities and secure communication infrastructure.
The players
Agility Robotics
This company is a developer of humanoid robots designed for logistics and industrial tasks.
FORT Robotics
This firm specializes in safety systems and communications technology for autonomous machines.
Digit 5
This is the latest humanoid robot from Agility Robotics, engineered specifically for human-robot cooperation.
The details
The joint project focuses on engineering hardware and compliance solutions that allow the Digit 5 to detect humans and respond to safety cues. This setup evolves the previous emergency-stop functionality provided by FORT into a broader, integrated framework for human-robot cooperation.
Timeline
The partnership was formally announced on October 6, 2026.
The Tech Race
This partnership marks an evolution in the safety standards applied to the Digit humanoid robot platform, following its previous use by companies like Toyota and GXO. The project represents a shift toward more robust, multi-layered safety integration as humanoid robots move from testing to sustained industrial deployment.
Workers in factories and warehouses may see more humanoid robots performing collaborative tasks alongside them as safety systems become more standardized. This development could accelerate the integration of automation into daily facility workflows by reducing the risks associated with shared workspaces.
The takeaway
The move toward formalized safety bridges indicates that industrial robotics is entering a more mature phase of human-robot integration. Companies deploying such hardware must prioritize these safety layers to satisfy regulatory demands and maintain facility productivity.
Further reading
For more on the evolution of automated systems, visit the Robotics section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Intelligentcio.
Live Poll
Do you support the integration of humanoid robots into shared workspaces alongside human employees?
