Meet Digit the robot

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) has signed a deal with American company Agility Robotics to deploy humanoid robots at its assembly plant in Woodstock.

The carmaker, which builds the RAV4 at the south-western Ontario facility, tested three of the machines last year and has signed to expand the programme to seven humanoids.

The robotics company’s general-purpose robot, known as Digit, is designed to take on repetitive logistics and manufacturing tasks. It uses artificial intelligence to learn and adapt to workflows.

Its deployment at TMMC follows about a year working through development, proof of technology and the on-site pilot. The seven robots are tasked with loading and unloading totes from an automated tugger.

Tim Hollander, president of TMMC, says: “After evaluating a number of robots, we’re excited to deploy Digit to improve the team-member experience and increase operational efficiency in our facilities.”

The deployment of such machines is part of a growing trend towards using humanoid robots in the car industry. Among others, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have been testing the technology at plants in the US and Europe, while Hyundai plans to be running them at its Georgia manufacturing complex in America in two years’ time.