Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada signs deal to deploy humanoid robots in facilities

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada has signed a commercial agreement with Agility Robotics to deploy its humanoid robot Digit in manufacturing and logistics operations following a successful pilot project.

Agility Robotics, creator of the general-purpose robot Digit, said the robots will support employees at Toyota’s Canadian facilities in manufacturing, supply chain and logistics roles.

“Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada has long been a leader in automotive manufacturing innovation,” said Tim Hollander, president, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. “After evaluating a number of robots, we are excited to deploy Digit to improve the team member experience and further increase operational efficiency in our manufacturing facilities.”

The companies said they will continue to assess additional use cases where robots and artificial intelligence could augment automotive production, including automating repetitive and physically demanding tasks on production lines to reduce strain and improve worker safety.

Agility Robotics CEO Peggy Johnson said the partnership marks an opportunity to integrate humanoid robotic solutions into automotive manufacturing.

“Toyota is one of the premier companies in the world; one with a long history of innovation and success, so it’s a privilege to join forces to integrate humanoid robotic solutions like Digit into automotive production,” said Peggy Johnson, Agility Robotics’ CEO. “I look forward to continuing our work with Toyota to identify all the ways that Digit can help the employees working at their production facilities. With our next generation of Digit, we will be the first company to deliver the first cooperatively safe humanoid robot to work alongside people, allowing companies like Toyota to scale their use of humanoids well beyond what is possible today.”

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada joins other companies deploying Agility’s humanoid robots globally, including GXO, Schaeffler and Amazon.

Agility Robotics said Digit can perform repetitive, process-driven tasks in manufacturing operations and is designed to integrate into existing facilities without significant retrofits.