While you were busy grumbling about the morning commute, Agility Robotics’ Digit humanoid was already quietly clocking in for its eight-hour shift at a Schaeffler Group factory in Cheraw, South Carolina. This bipedal worker is now a full-time member of the workforce, lugging 11kg baskets of bearing components from stamping presses to conveyor belts without so much as a coffee break. It’s exactly the kind of mind-numbing, repetitive graft that Digit was designed to handle.
This is no mere short-term work placement. The deployment follows a landmark deal where German industrial titan Schaeffler didn’t just take a minority stake in Agility; they committed to a massive rollout across their global network of roughly 100 manufacturing plants by 2030. What started as pilot programmes in 2025 has now evolved into a proper full-time gig.
Standing at 5ft 9in and weighing about 65kg, this humanoid is the spearhead of Schaeffler’s strategy to plug labour shortages and sharpen efficiency via automation—a plan that also sees them rubbing shoulders with NVIDIA for AI and simulation tech. And Schaeffler isn’t the only one headhunting: Digit is becoming the must-have hire in industrial circles, with the likes of GXO Logistics, Amazon, and even Toyota Hires Agility’s Digit Humanoids for Canadian Factory putting the robot through its paces in their own facilities.
Why does this matter?
This shift moves the humanoid conversation from “if” to “how many?”. Schaeffler’s heavy-duty commitment marks a pivotal moment where flashy tech demos give way to genuine industrial integration, solving the very real problem of chronic labour shortages. While others are still tinkering with pilots, Schaeffler is signing off on purchase orders and weaving humanoids into the fabric of daily operations. This isn’t just another “future of work” slide deck; it’s the factory floor today, and Digit is already on the rota for the next shift.
