Agility Robotics, the company behind the humanoid robot Digit, has announced a new partnership with Ricoh USA to enhance its customer support network throughout North America. The agreement, which leverages Ricoh’s extensive service infrastructure, marks the first collaboration of its kind for a humanoid robot. Through Ricoh’s Service Advantage program, Agility aims to provide its customers with broader resources and support to manage its robots deployed in logistics and warehouse environments.
As part of the agreement, Ricoh will support both Digit and Agility Arc™, Agility’s cloud-based platform for managing fleets of Digit robots. This move comes as the warehouse automation sector experiences rapid growth, with more companies adopting robotics to streamline operations and reduce reliance on human labor.
Expanding Support for Autonomous Warehouse Solutions
Agility’s partnership with Ricoh is positioned as a strategic move to ensure that customers deploying humanoid robots have access to a robust support system. Ricoh, a company with more than 80 years of experience in service delivery, will provide maintenance and troubleshooting for Digit robots, allowing Agility to scale its operations across a growing number of logistics environments.
Jim Kirby, Vice President of Service Advantage at Ricoh North America, highlighted the importance of this collaboration in light of the global expansion of warehouse automation. "The need to keep the related technology, automation, and robotics up and running, as well as adapt to new workflows, becomes even more critical,” Kirby said. He emphasized that Ricoh’s extensive service network will help ensure the success of Agility’s automated solutions.
Agility Arc and Digit: Aiming for Seamless Deployment
At the heart of Agility’s approach to warehouse automation is Digit, a humanoid robot designed to perform repetitive tasks and operate safely in environments built for humans. Capable of performing tasks like picking and transporting goods, Digit is seen as a flexible, human-centric solution for logistics work. To streamline the deployment and management of Digit robots, Agility offers Agility Arc, a cloud platform designed to simplify the lifecycle of automation projects — from facility mapping to operational troubleshooting.
Rich Bohne, Chief Commercial Officer at Agility Robotics, explained that the partnership with Ricoh adds an essential layer of expert support for customers. "This partnership with Ricoh gives us eyes, ears, and hands all over the world and adds an additional layer of expert support should a customer need our assistance," Bohne said. By combining Ricoh’s global service reach with Agility’s cutting-edge robotics, the companies aim to ensure high uptime, safety, and overall operational success for their clients.
Strengthening Agility’s Industry Position
This announcement is the latest in a series of strategic partnerships for Agility Robotics, as the company continues to build out its support infrastructure. Agility has recently secured agreements with major logistics players such as GXO Logistics, marking the first commercial deployment of humanoid robots in the industry. This Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) model, combined with ongoing partnerships with system integrators like Zion Solutions Group and warehouse management specialists Manhattan Associates, suggests Agility is positioning itself for a larger role in the automation of logistics operations.
As companies increasingly look to robotics to boost efficiency in warehouses, Agility’s focus on creating a reliable support system for its humanoid robots could set it apart in a crowded field. The partnership with Ricoh is expected to strengthen Agility’s ability to deliver a seamless customer experience, especially as more businesses turn to automated solutions to meet growing demand in the logistics and e-commerce sectors.
In a rapidly evolving market, the combination of Agility's robotics innovation and Ricoh’s service infrastructure could prove to be a key differentiator as the adoption of humanoid robots accelerates.
.png)
