Agility Robotics CEO Peggy Johnson Joins Pentagon-Commissioned Project Meridian

What Project Meridian is

According to Agility Robotics, Project Meridian is a Department of War (DoW) initiative that brings together prominent industry executives and former government leaders. Its goal is to examine the future of warfare and to inform long-term defense capability development and investment priorities.

The study is led by The MITRE Corporation. It will develop strategic recommendations over a 10- to 20-year horizon, looking at emerging technologies, evolving operational concepts and the capabilities needed to meet future national security challenges. Participants come from across the defense and technology industries.

Johnson's role and what she plans to contribute

Johnson will take part as an individual consultant. Agility says she will draw on her decades of technology leadership experience and on the company's work in developing and commercially deploying humanoid robots. She will contribute to discussions about how emerging technologies and commercial innovation can support the military's evolving needs.

The company stresses that her participation is as an individual consultant to MITRE. It describes this as separate from Agility's commercial operations and from its independent vision for the responsible application of humanoid robotics.

In the announcement, Johnson said: "The future of robotics isn't just about developing new capabilities. It's about putting those capabilities to work where they can make a meaningful difference."

Logistics as the focus for humanoid robots

Johnson pointed to logistics as the area where she sees the most promise. She said she sees "an important opportunity for humanoid robots to support the men and women serving our country by taking on physically demanding and repetitive logistics tasks, strengthening supply chains and allowing personnel to focus on higher-value work."

She added that she looks forward to bringing lessons from real-world commercial deployments to the project. The press release frames her selection as a chance to offer practical, commercially informed perspectives on emerging technologies and their possible applications to national security.

About Agility and Digit

Agility Robotics is headquartered in Salem, Oregon, with offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Fremont, California. Its general-purpose humanoid robot, Digit, is described by the company as commercially deployed today. Agility says Digit has logged more than 65,000 hours of real-world operation.

The announcement comes among other recent company news. Agility lists a strategic partnership with FORT Robotics on humanoid robot safety (October 1, 2026), new directors for a planned public-company board (September 29, 2026) and an Analyst & Investor Day scheduled for October 6, 2026.

What it means

The announcement does not describe any contract or military deployment of Digit. Johnson's role is advisory and limited to a study that will produce long-term recommendations. It does show that a commercial humanoid robot maker is contributing to a defense-planning discussion, with logistics and operational support named as the use case Johnson wants to highlight.