Intel RealSense and Agility Robotics: Augmenting Human Potential

Agility Robotics envisions a future in which humanoid, mobile manipulation robots collaborate with people to orchestrate complex industrial tasks. The robots handle mundane, hazardous, and repetitive jobs, empowering human workers to focus on higher-order cognitive functions such as creativity, problem-solving, and strategic thinking that only humans can do.

This vision is quickly becoming a reality as Agility Robotics deploys its popular Digit humanoid robot in manufacturing, distribution, retail, e-commerce, and logistics facilities. It all hinges on advancements in computer vision technology, which have led to more accurate and robust robotic perception capabilities.

Agility Robotics is the world’s leading manufacturer of mobile manipulation robots.

A New Era of Industrial Automation

Humanoid robots are sophisticated productivity machines that combine the mobility of a robot with the dexterity of a robotic arm. Intel RealSense depth cameras allow humanoid robots such as Digit to understand their surroundings, interact with unfamiliar environments, and identify objects with high precision.

Intel RealSense captures depth data alongside visual information, enabling accurate identification and localization of objects within a scene. By combining this data with proprietary AI algorithms, Digit can distinguish between objects based on their distance, size, and shape, improving detection accuracy and reliability.

Embedded in the neck of the robot, Intel RealSense Depth Camera D455 gathers 3D information for object detection, collision avoidance, and terrain mapping.

AI Integration in the Cloud

Agility Robotics’ integrated solutions combine advanced hardware, software, and services. Its cloud automation platform, Agility Arc, allows customers to adjust work cells, monitor robotic fleets, and connect to accessories such as charging stations and control pendants. AI algorithms process the camera data to detect and localize totes in the environment. A robot-as-a-service (RaaS) model enables organizations to integrate robotics into their operations, from initial workflow definition to facility design, commissioning, operation, and support.

Agility Robotics selected Intel RealSense Depth Camera D455 due to its depth quality, global shutter, RGB sensor, low power consumption, reasonable cost, and the maturity of the software development kit (SDK), which made it easier to get started building custom robotic solutions. To improve the RGB image and the correspondence between the depth and RGB images, the RGB sensor includes a global shutter and is matched to the depth FOV.

Today, Agility Robotics uses Intel RealSense for object detection, collision avoidance, and terrain mapping. The RGB/depth combination allows Digit to detect objects of interest, such as totes, and then estimate their 3D poses. From the depth data, Digit can generate terrain maps that inform how it walks throughout the environment.

Robots at Your Service

GXO Logistics recently signed a multi-year agreement to deploy Digit in GXO’s logistics operations, marking the industry’s first formal commercial deployment of humanoid robots and first Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) deployment of humanoid robots. Building on a previous proof-of-concept, Digit will help GXO with repetitive tasks such as moving totes from cobots and placing them onto conveyors, all orchestrated through Agility Arc. Under the RaaS agreement, GXO Logistics and Ability Robotics will continue to explore additional use cases and scale Digit usage to meet demand throughout the deployment.
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Agility Robotics offers everything customers need to quickly deploy automation solutions in their facilities without costly retrofitting. Digit can walk into existing facilities and address the hardest-to-automate portions of precision workflows.