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Robot Autonomy, Classified
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Comparison · 2 robots

Boston Dynamics Atlas · Digit 5

All humanoid robots. Every measure below is plotted against the full class, so a difference can be read against how much the class itself varies.

  1. Boston Dynamics Atlas
  2. Digit 5
Boston Dynamics

Boston Dynamics Atlas

Autonomy
IIIConditional Autonomy
Score
70/100 Plausible
Readiness
Not assessed
Price
Not tracked

Agility Robotics

Digit 5

Autonomy
IIIConditional Autonomy
Score
71/100 Promising
Readiness
Not assessed
Price
Not tracked

Up to three

01 Classification

What each one does on its own.

The Autonomy Ladder is the same five rungs for every robot on the site. A rung describes the conditions a robot handles without you, not how good it is.

V
Generalized
Any task, any setting
IV
Environmental
Handles new obstacles without help
III
Conditional
Finishes familiar jobs on its own
Boston Dynamics AtlasDigit 5
II
Assisted
Runs preset routines, needs rescue
I
Manual
One action, on command
02 Assessment

Where they actually differ.

The Robovations Score is nine inputs across three pillars, each weighted as shown and each scored so that more is better. A robot can lead on one and trail on another, which is the point of showing them apart. Cost of ownership and data handling are reported on each robot's own page and are never averaged into the score.

None of these robots carries a scored assessment yet, so there is nothing to plot here. The classification and evidence below still apply.

03 Measured against the class

How far apart is a long way?

A number only means something next to the spread it sits in. Each track below is the real range across every classified robot in the class, with the median marked.

Runtime34 with a published figure
  • Boston Dynamics Atlas240 min
  • Digit 590 min
60 minmedian 240 min720 min
Charge time16 with a published figure
  • Boston Dynamics Atlas90 min
  • Digit 59 min
9 minmedian 120 min480 min
Weight48 with a published figure
  • Boston Dynamics Atlas198 lbs
  • Digit 5284 lbs
26.5 lbsmedian 142.6 lbs661.4 lbs
Height51 with a published figure
  • Boston Dynamics Atlas74.8 in
  • Digit 571.3 in
34.7 inmedian 66.9 in86.6 in

Not compared, because fewer than two of these robots carry a published figure: Price, Suction, Noise.

04 Ownership

What the numbers leave out.

The trade-off

What each design gives up to be good at what it is good at.

Boston Dynamics Atlas

Electric actuation enables precise control and extended sequences, but requires careful thermal management and ongoing firmware tuning.

Research-grade flexibility permits custom task definition and algorithm development, but demands expert operators and extended integration timelines.

Digit 5

Digit 5 pairs a proven warehouse task set with unproven redesigned legs.

The payload increase comes from a new leg and actuator design, so the predecessor’s three-year reliability record does not carry over to this generation.

Enterprise-only distribution: no price, retailer or consumer path exists to evaluate it independently.

Who each one is wrong for

Stated by the record itself. A robot being wrong for a household is a fact about fit, not a fault.

Boston Dynamics Atlas
Autonomous consumer deployment
Atlas is an enterprise industrial platform deployed inside customer facilities through Boston Dynamics. There is no consumer sale, no consumer support path and no consumer price.
Organizations expecting a self-serve product
Deployment runs through Boston Dynamics rather than through a purchase and install. There is no published Atlas SDK and no documented route to buy the robot and define tasks on it independently.
Cost-sensitive industrial automation
Capital cost, integration and site preparation far exceed typical industrial automation ROI thresholds for fixed repeating tasks, which conventional automation covers for a fraction of the outlay.
Tasks outside material handling
Boston Dynamics' stated application set is part sequencing, machine tending, order building, barcode scanning and warehouse operations. Asset inspection in mines and power plants is Spot's job, not Atlas's.
Digit 5
Consumers or small businesses seeking direct purchase
Agility sells and leases only through enterprise deployment partnerships; no consumer or small-business order path is published.
Buyers wanting a machine deployable today
No Digit 5 unit has shipped to a customer; early access does not begin until the first half of 2027.
Operations needing independently verified reliability data
The redesigned legs, actuators and battery carry no independent field record yet; only the predecessor generation's three-year run is documented.
Tasks outside structured picking, sorting and material transport
Every documented deployment is warehouse or manufacturing material handling; no broader task set has been shown.
Sites unable to fund enterprise-scale integration
Reported lease estimates run near $8,500 a month before facility integration, safety-zone setup and operator training are added.

What stays your job

The upkeep ownership hands back to you, whatever the autonomy level says.

Boston Dynamics Atlas
  • As needed: Boston Dynamics publishes no maintenance schedule for Atlas. Service intervals, consumable parts and inspection cadence sit in the deployment agreement rather than in public documentation.
  • As needed: Charging is not an operator task. Boston Dynamics states Atlas walks to a charging station and swaps its own battery, with a stated 4 hour battery life, so there is no daily plug-in routine to schedule.
  • As needed: Keep exclusion zones, floor condition and charging-area practice to the deployment agreement’s standard; the operating site owns the environment even though the robot owns its battery.
  • As needed: Software and fleet oversight run through Orbit, Boston Dynamics’ management platform connecting Atlas to site systems; update cadence is not published.
  • As needed: Fault reporting and repair run through the deployment program. No public parts catalog, consumables list or owner-serviceable procedure exists for Atlas.
Digit 5
  • Daily: Battery charge cycle and dock alignment check given the 9-minute recharge target.
  • Daily: Visual inspection of the redesigned legs, actuators and gripper for damage or loose fasteners.
  • Weekly: Sensor and camera cleaning to keep the person-detection system reliable.
  • Weekly: Safety-zone boundary and stop-distance verification around the deployment area.
  • Monthly: Actuator range-of-motion diagnostics on the new cycloidal drive.
  • Monthly: Software update review; Agility has not published an independent update cadence for Digit 5.
  • Annually: Full battery capacity assessment and structural inspection.
05 Evidence

How much each of these is standing on.

Classifications rest on different depths of evidence. A pre-release assessment and a verified one are not the same kind of claim.

Evidence behind each classification
Robot Evidence status Sources reviewed Last assessed
Boston Dynamics Atlas Not Consumer-Ready 8 Sep 2026
Digit 5 Pre-Release 4 Sep 2026

Robovations classifies robots; it does not rank them. Nothing on this page is a recommendation, and no manufacturer influences a classification or its placement here.