AGCO Will Test Agility's Digit Humanoid Robots at Kansas Plant in 2027

AGCO will deploy humanoid robots at its Hesston, Kansas agricultural machinery plant starting in 2027, under a commercial agreement with Agility Robotics signed for the U.S. manufacturing site.

The pilot will use Digit, a humanoid robot built for industrial work, and will begin with repetitive material-handling tasks: sorting and stacking parts and positioning containers used for material storage. AGCO has not disclosed the number of robots, the investment, or the pilot's expected duration.

Why humanoids rather than fixed automation?

The project tests a new generation of automation in agricultural machinery manufacturing. Conventional industrial robots operate in specially designed workstations. Digit is built to move and work in environments originally designed for people, which could let AGCO add automation to selected processes without redesigning existing facilities.

The robot navigates with sensors, perception systems and artificial intelligence. It can integrate with Agility Arc, a cloud-based platform for deploying, monitoring and managing robot fleets.

Thomas Enghof, AGCO's Director of Manufacturing Technology, said combining humanoid robotics with artificial intelligence creates new opportunities to automate complex industrial processes.

The takeaway: AGCO is testing whether robots that walk into human workspaces can automate tasks that fixed installations cannot reach cheaply.

What will the robots actually do?

Initial testing concentrates on internal logistics and material handling, not assembly. AGCO has not announced any applications involving assembly of complex agricultural machinery components. Results will determine whether humanoid robots could extend to additional manufacturing processes.

AGCO frames the deployment as robots working alongside employees, with attention to operational safety. Two stated objectives:

• Reduce workers' exposure to repetitive movements and physically demanding activities
• Shift employees toward higher-skilled tasks requiring greater technical expertise

The takeaway: the pilot measures ergonomics and throughput on the plant floor, not headline cost savings.

Does this signal broader AI adoption in machinery manufacturing?

The initiative extends AI and autonomous robotics beyond the machines themselves. Equipment manufacturers are already building tractors and combines with advanced automation; AGCO is now applying intelligent technologies to its own production operations.

Hesston is one of AGCO's major U.S. manufacturing operations, making it a significant test bed. Humanoid robots offer an alternative to fixed robotic installations for selected tasks, but widespread industrial adoption will depend on productivity, reliability, safety and operating costs — metrics AGCO has not yet quantified.

Through the Hesston pilot, AGCO will evaluate humanoid robots as a new industrial automation tool, another step in the expansion of artificial intelligence into agricultural machinery manufacturing.