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Mercado Livre Begins Integrating Humanoid Robot Digit at Its Texas Center to Automate Repetitive Processes, Improve Ergonomics, Enhance Productivity, and Test Expanded Applications in Logistics Operations in Latin America
Mercado Livre has initiated the integration of the humanoid robot Digit at its distribution center in Texas to take on repetitive tasks, improve workplace ergonomics, and assess how automation can enhance productivity and scale operations in Latin America.
Start of Operations in the United States
Mercado Livre has partnered with Agility Robotics to incorporate the humanoid robot Digit at its San Antonio unit in Texas, where the machine will start performing repetitive and physically demanding tasks that often lead to a shortage of qualified personnel.
The immediate goal is to utilize Digit to support order processing for e-commerce, allowing teams to focus efforts on higher value-added tasks, according to the initial assessment from both companies.
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According to the announced agreement, this implementation represents the first step of a project that may expand to other facilities in Latin America, provided that productivity and ergonomics results are confirmed.
Agility Robotics emphasized that the Texas stage opens opportunities for future expansion in the region, reinforcing initiatives aimed at improving performance, reducing physical risks, and supporting integrated logistical flows.
The company stated that the robot can help mitigate persistent labor gaps, especially in roles marked by repetitive movements or prolonged physical effort that increase ergonomic risks.
Impact Assessment and Expanded Use Possibilities
Mercado Livre reported that freeing workers from exhausting tasks will allow a focus on more specialized activities, favoring operations considered more qualified, intelligent, and sustainable at distribution centers.
In a statement, the company’s senior vice president of logistics, Agustin Costa, expressed enthusiasm for the tests involving humanoid robotics and highlighted the complementary potential to the current capabilities of the teams.
The initiative occurs in a global context where companies across various sectors have accelerated the adoption of robotics and AI, seeking to enhance efficiency, safety, and scalability in competitive operational chains.
In the previous month, Agility Robotics reported that Digit exceeded 100,000 box movements at a GXO Logistics facility in Flowery Branch, Georgia, establishing unprecedented parameters of measurable industrial productivity.
This milestone was achieved in a pilot project where the robot transferred stocks from AMRs to conveyor belts, demonstrating the importance of the humanoid format for executing the so-called last mile of the process.
This final segment of logistical movement requires flexibility and dexterity more akin to human action, a point at which fixed robotic arms and purely mobile systems face structural technical limitations.
Comparisons with Competitors and Industrial Progress
GXO is part of a broader effort to evaluate the use of humanoids, also involving developers such as Apptronik and Reflex, while examining performances in real distribution environments.
Agility has become the first to disclose clear and verifiable productivity metrics, which, according to industry analysts, provides an initial advantage in industrial validation compared to direct competitors.
The company Figure announced that its F.02 robots handled approximately 90,000 pieces of metal sheet, a number close to, but lower than, that achieved by Digit in counted box movements in the American project.
Global competition is intensifying with recent announcements from the Chinese company UBTECH, which has begun mass deployments of industrial humanoids in automotive production lines, expanding the contest for scale and efficiency.
Technological Integration and Fleet Management
Agility Robotics explained that Digit utilizes advancements in AI and operates under the coordination of Agility Arc, a cloud platform responsible for orchestrating fleets, workflows, and integrations with existing logistics systems.
According to the company, the model was designed to take on high-turnover tasks that are difficult to fill with qualified labor, ensuring operational continuity even in environments with variable demand.
Integration with Agility Arc allows operators to maintain real-time control of processes, preventing disruptions and supporting swift actions in response to fluctuations in volumes or unexpected bottlenecks in flow.
This ability for direct connection with systems already adopted at Mercado Livre reduces structural adaptations and enables faster transitions between testing phases and subsequent expansion cycles.
Additional Information and Recent Context
Mercado Livre’s commercial announcement, identified by the code MELI, reinforced that the partnership marks a significant step in advanced automation strategy, according to a post shared by Damian Brik on December 10, 2025.
The statement highlighted that Digit will be integrated into the company’s facilities in San Antonio, reiterating that the project may expand the use of humanoids across the company’s warehouse network in Latin America.
Agility Robotics, based in Oregon, remains involved in industrial programs that test technological rivalries and validate operational metrics, in a dynamic expected to remain intense throughout upcoming cycles.
The market is closely observing these movements as they highlight profound changes in global logistics and the employment of advanced robotics, although some evaluations still depend on future additional data that will be collected. Here, there was a small purposeful typo.
Companies note that the performance recorded by Digit in previous installations guides expectations for upcoming tests, including the Texas unit, which will serve as the initial base for the expanded program.
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