AGCO plans to deploy Agility Robotics’ Digit humanoid robot at its factory in Hesston, Kansas, from 2027. The pilot project will focus on sorting and stacking parts and on handling storage bins in agricultural machinery production.
On 20 October 2026, agricultural machinery maker AGCO and Agility Robotics announced that they had signed a commercial agreement covering the use of humanoid robots in an industrial setting. The Hesston facility in the United States will host the trial, which aims to automate certain repetitive and physically demanding operations. The deployment is scheduled for 2027. Digit has not yet been put into service at the plant.
What Digit will do at AGCO: sorting parts and handling bins
Digit’s first planned tasks relate to assembly and production operations. AGCO intends to use the robot to sort components, stack them and position storage bins.
These are repetitive handling tasks in which employees regularly have to pick up and move items. AGCO says the goal is to reduce physical strain, improve workstation ergonomics and let operators focus on more skilled work.
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Thomas Enghof, director of manufacturing technology at AGCO, describes the partnership as a way to integrate humanoid robots into existing industrial processes, in particular to take on repetitive, strenuous or dangerous tasks.
How Digit works: AI and the Agility Arc fleet platform
Digit is a bipedal humanoid robot designed to work in environments built for people. According to Agility Robotics, its artificial intelligence system allows it to adapt as tasks and production processes change.
The company also pairs Digit with Agility Arc, its cloud platform for deploying and managing robot fleets. The software is designed to make it easier to integrate robots into industrial operations and to supervise their use.
Agility Robotics says this combination can reduce the infrastructure changes needed to install robots in factories. These benefits are the company’s technological objectives, not results already measured at the Hesston site.
AGCO and Agility Robotics sign commercial deal ahead of the pilot
The agreement between AGCO and Agility Robotics marks a new industrial application planned for Digit, this time in the manufacture of agricultural equipment.
The robot already has commercial customers in other sectors. Agility Robotics cites GXO, Toyota and Schaeffler among the companies involved in deployments of its humanoids. The Hesston project, for its part, is still at the stage of preparing a trial.
Daniel Diez, chief commercial officer at Agility Robotics, says the partnership is intended to strengthen manufacturing processes, support employees in demanding tasks and assess the impact of humanoid robotics on industrial operations.
The deployment announced by AGCO concerns a US facility. It is not an announcement that Digit will be sold or delivered in France.
Hesston, Kansas: AGCO’s first test site for Digit
The Hesston site in Kansas will be the starting point for this industrial partnership. AGCO builds agricultural equipment there and plans to integrate Digit into some of its production and storage operations.
The trial will allow the partners to evaluate the robot in real industrial workflows, on tasks tied directly to how the factory is organised. It is expected to start in 2027, in line with the timeline announced jointly by AGCO and Agility Robotics.