Agile Robots showcases force-control technology, humanoids, and physical AI at Robot Technology Japan event. Discover more Electronics Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence Off-Road Vehicles Agile Robots is using Robot Technology Japan (RTJ) 2026 to showcase a broad portfolio of industrial robotics, embodied AI, and humanoid technologies as the company continues its expansion in the global automation market. The Munich-headquartered company is presenting its latest force-control systems, collaborative robots, humanoid platforms, and AI-driven automation technologies at the event in Nagoya, Japan. While the exhibition includes a range of industrial automation solutions, Agile Robots is placing particular emphasis on what it describes as the convergence of artificial intelligence and physical-world robotics through advanced force control and physical AI. The company says its robots use high-precision force sensing, joint-level torque sensing, and control cycles running at 1 kHz to continuously adjust their movements based on real-time feedback. The technology is designed to automate tasks that have traditionally proved difficult for industrial robots, including precision insertion, electronics assembly, and the handling of variable components. Agile Robots says it has now deployed more than 20,000 robotic systems worldwide. Among the systems on display is the Diana 7 collaborative robot, which is being demonstrated in automotive wiring applications, and the Thor 7 Pro, which performs engine cylinder-head assembly tasks using real-time force monitoring to verify correct component placement. The company is also showcasing its AgileCore robotics software platform, which integrates robots, vision systems, force-control devices, mobile robots, and industrial controllers into a unified development environment. Beyond industrial automation, Agile Robots is highlighting developments in embodied AI through Franka Robotics, which became part of the Agile Robots group in 2023. Demonstrations include dual-arm Franka Research 3 systems integrated with Nvidia Isaac GR00T and teleoperation technologies designed to support data collection and AI policy training. The exhibition follows several major developments for Agile Robots this year, including the launch of its Agile ONE humanoid robot, the acquisition of thyssenkrupp Automation Engineering, and a strategic research partnership with Google DeepMind. Under the DeepMind collaboration, Agile Robots plans to combine its industrial robotics platform with Google's Gemini Robotics foundation model to develop robots capable of greater reasoning, adaptability, and autonomous decision-making. The company says these initiatives form part of a broader strategy to accelerate the deployment of physical AI systems in real-world manufacturing environments, creating what it describes as a feedback loop between robot deployment, operational data, and AI-driven learning.

Physical AI: driving innovation in industry. AI is transforming industrial processes - making them more autonomous, efficient, and adaptable. Agile Robots brings this intelligence into the physical world by combining powerful algorithms with state-of-the-art robotics to create solutions that extend beyond the digital realm and deliver tangible value on the production floor. How this translates into real-world performance will be showcased by Agile Robots and Franka Robotics at their joint booth at Hannover Messe, Hall 27, Booth J72. 30 Mar 2026

Google partners with Agile Robots to expand AI robot footprint. Intrinsic's flagship product, Flowstate, is a web-based platform that allows users to build robotic applications without writing thousands of lines of code. essential google is focusing on robotics as a key bet in artificial intelligence and is adding new robotics partnerships to its belt. Agile Robots develops intelligent sensor-based robotic arms and humanoid robots. The company announced a partnership with Google DeepMind to integrate Gemini Robotics foundation models with Agile Robots hardware. "This partnership is built on the belief that applying AI to the physical world is transformative," said a blog post on Tuesday. "By integrating Agile Robots' hardware and other German-developed AI robotics solutions with Google DeepMind's Gemini Robotics foundational model, both teams will be able to improve performance through robot deployment, data collection, model training, and iteration." The new partnership means Google sees robotics as one of its big use cases for AI and will gain real-world adoption data to compete with companies such as: Amazon and tesla. It also shows that the company has entered into several robotics partnerships as it focuses on manufacturing as a primary use case. Munich-based Agile Robots, which already has more than 20,000 robot systems installed around the world, will integrate Google's technology into existing industrial robots at scale, the company said in a blog post. The partnership will initially focus on use cases in "high-value industries" such as manufacturing operations. "This research partnership is an important step in bringing the impact of AI to the real world," Carolina Parada, senior director and head of robotics at Google DeepMind, said in a blog post on Tuesday. He added that agile robots will help Google develop "more advanced AI models for the next generation of robots." In mid-2025, Google debuted two new AI models, Gemini Robotics and Gemini Robotics-ER (Extended Reasoning), bringing generative AI to physical movement commands to control robots. Google said in a blog post at the time that it was partnering with Texas-based robot developer Apptronik to "build the next generation of humanoid robots with Gemini 2.0." Google's DeepMind announced in January that it would work with Hyundai Motor Company's Boston Dynamics, formerly part of Google, to develop new AI models for the Atlas robot. Last month, Google DeepMind announced that robotics software company Intrinsic would move from the "Other Bets" category to a major company in hopes of becoming the "Android of robotics." The company said it will focus on manufacturing and work with Google's Gemini and infrastructure teams, including potentially helping Google build its own data centers. An early sign that the company was serious about robotics came in the past year when it made key hires. In November, Google's DeepMind division hired former Boston Dynamics CTO Aaron Saunders. But Google's growing interest in robotics has also sparked skepticism within the company. Boston Dynamics, for example, has a long-standing contract with the Department of Defense, but Business Insider reports that some DeepMind employees reportedly raised concerns during an all-hands meeting earlier this year. This trend isn't unique to Google. Robotics is emerging as a major use case for AI across the technology industry. Bedrock Robotics, a self-driving construction technology startup founded by Waymo and Segment veterans, raised $270 million in a new funding round in February, valuing the two-year-old startup at $1.75 billion. The round was led by Valor Atreides AI Fund, CapitalG, Alphabet's investment arm. It is the venture arm of Nvidia and previously supported 8VC. Make CNBC your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted names in business news. March 25, 2026 March 24, 2026