Animals use body language to communicate a great deal about their moods and feelings. One example of this is the way animals will often orient themselves toward people they are socializing with, or else away from those they don’t want to be around. This is used as an indicator of how the animal feels about that person or situation.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a craze swept through the business world known as “the robot panic”. The reasons for this hysteria are still unknown, but it seems as though all businesses started scrambling to purchase or develop robot counterparts to replace human employees.
In some ways, this was a sensible decision- after all, robots are capable of doing many tasks that would be difficult or even impossible for humans to do. However, there is also a lot of fear surrounding the rise of robotic technology- specifically when it comes to jobs that rely on human interaction and communication skills. It is clear that robot personalities need to be designed with care if they are going to be accommodated into any workplace. For example, Digit worked best in environments where it could move around freely and interact with people in an interactive way- such as sales positions or customer service departments. Agility
on the other hand was more suited for jobs where there is limited movement and interaction with other people- such as factory floors or storage areas. These differences stem from the way each robot processes information and processes instructions from its computers. While we can only speculate about what will happen when artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more advanced and able to efficiently operate various tasks without assistance from humans ─likely happening sooner rather than later ─it’s nice know that there will still be certain jobs out there that will require our unique combination of skills and intuition

In Digit 2.0, ProMat has created a minimalist head that is equipped with sensors on the sides, a pair of large, blinking LED eyes on the front and a third light on the rear. These eyes provide insight (along with body language) into what direction and intention Digit 2.0 is heading in. With its strange oblong shape and shiny white appearance, this robot is certainly an eye-catching addition to any scene – perfect for adding an unexpected bit of motion or life to a set

With the release of its new head with LED animated eyes, Digit has made strides in improving HRI functionality. The new head allows for simple expressions to be used to convey information and intent, something that was previously difficult with technology. For example, the new head uses straightforward body language and eye movement to indicate which direction it is about to turn.

The Digit’s nubs had been adequate for its predecessor, but they were not up to par with present day industrial tools. With the addition of ‘end efforts’ design, users can efficiently interact with warehouse tools like bins. This change improves efficiency and overall usability.

The company is positioning itself as a leader in the industry, by providing access to its Agility Partner Program (APP) which gives customers – both current and future – more impact on the robot’s development. This will move them to front of the line when the product goes on sale and may even result in early beta robots arriving next year. Pricing for these devices has not yet been revealed, but it looks like Agility is aiming to be one of the most affordable robot options out there.