Automation is top of mind for companies as they look to install technologies and systems to prepare operations for next-generation manufacturing.
To meet this growing demand, companies such as Nvidia and ABB Robotics are expanding partnerships related to robotics and artificial intelligence. Startup Standard Bots also finished a fundraising campaign as the company looks to expand its manufacturing facility.
Additionally, more than 50,000 attendees are expected to be in Chicago next week for Automate 2026, billed as North America’s largest robotics and automation event.
Here is some of the recent robotics news and a preview for Automate 2026.
Nvidia and Doosan Group
Nvidia is expanding its partnership with South Korea-based Doosan Group, one of the largest heavy equipment manufacturers in the world, with a focus on advancing physical AI, robotics and AI factory infrastructure.
The collaboration will bring together Nvidia’s computing platforms with Doosan Group’s capabilities in industrial automation, power generation and advanced electronics materials, according to a news release.
By integrating Nvidia’s technologies, Doosan Group said it seeks to help robots better perceive, reason and act in complex and dynamic environments. The companies are also looking to develop reference use cases for industrial tasks such as depalletizing and sanding, as well as for dual-arm and humanoid robot forms.
Additionally, Doosan Group, which owns the Bobcat brand, plans to integrate Nvidia’s technologies across its landscaping, agriculture, construction and material handling equipment. The companies seek to develop the ability for Doosan’s Bobcat equipment to perceive diverse operating environments and perform tasks more autonomously.
Standard Bots
Standard Bots, a maker of industrial robotic arms, has raised $200 million in a series C round of funding to scale design, production and deployment of its robots made in the United States.
The funding round was led by new investor RoboStrategy, as well as General Catalyst and other previous investors. It comes as Standard Bots looks to expand its manufacturing facility in Glen Cove, New York, to 70,000 square feet, according to a news release. Standard Bots also reached a $1 billion valuation as part of its latest round and plans to make all its parts in the U.S. by 2027.
What differentiates Standard Bots is its physical AI approach, which teaches robots through demonstration and expands the range of tasks that can be automated, RoboStrategy CEO Andrew Kang said in a statement.
“We believe Standard Bots is uniquely positioned to define the next generation of industrial robotics,” Kang said.
Standard Bots said it is on track to deliver 10% of U.S. industrial robot deployments by next year.
ABB Robotics and Psyonic
ABB Robotics has partnered with Psyonic, a California-based bionics company, to advance robotic gripping and dexterity using data from human prosthetic use.
By combining Psyonic’s Ability Hand with ABB’s GoFa collaborative robot, the companies plan to explore how touch and motion data from a bionic prosthetic hand can be used to train robots to perform tasks that have typically been difficult to automate.
“As we develop the next generation of physical AI, robots will learn and understand the world as we do,” ABB Robotics President Marc Segura said in a statement. “This collaboration with Psyonic will help to close the long-standing gap between human and robot dexterity, opening up new possibilities for a wide range of industries.”
The collaboration will explore new applications across automotive, aerospace and life sciences, as well as packaging and logistics, according to a news release. Psyonic is working closely with ABB Robotics on integration and development.
Automate 2026 preview
Several robotics companies plan to announce new products, partnerships and technology advancements at Automate 2026 in Chicago next week.
Kawasaki
Kawasaki Robotics said it will debut its new RL030N, an eight-axis robot designed for physical AI applications, and demonstrate its patented Pulseboard technology in a live robotic weld inspection system developed with Five DyAG.
It also plans to introduce its MXP360L, an extra-large industrial robotic arm with a payload capacity of 360 kilograms, and BA013L welding robot.
ABB Robotics
ABB Robotics said it will have several robotics and product demonstrations going on the trade floor, including the debut of its physical AI toolchain — a tech stack that includes “data generation, training and validation, deployment and optimization” for industrial-grade accuracy in robot AI models.
“We’re enabling robots to be trained faster and more accurately using simulated, synthetic or real data,” Segura said in a statement.
Teradyne Robotics
Teradyne Robotics, the company behind Universal Robots and Mobile Industrial Robots, said it will demonstrate deployable physical AI for manufacturing and logistics at the trade show.
The company plans to host hourly live demos of how its PolyScope X software platform is designed for “future-proof, cyber-secure, and AI-ready robotics,” and showcase robots for addressing the needs of electronics manufacturers and AI data centers.
Fanuc America
Fanuc America said it will showcase its advanced robotics, collaborative automation and AI-enabled manufacturing technologies next week.
At the trade show, the company plans to have several automation demos that address “real production challenges” through increasingly connected, intelligent systems. Making its debut is Fanuc’s CRX-3iA collaborative robot using a newly developed vertical-up welding profile designed for a structural steel I-beam.
The company also said it will demonstrate how its collaborative robots use physical AI technology to perform various tasks, including real-time bolt tightening along a moving engine block and vision-guided box handling and barcode scanning.
