FANUC Advances Physical AI Through Google Collaboration

FANUC has announced a strategic collaboration with Google focused on advancing Physical AI capabilities across industrial robotics and factory automation systems. The initiative combines FANUC’s industrial robotics platforms with Google AI technologies to support more adaptive and autonomous manufacturing environments.

The collaboration is centered on the advancement of Physical AI, which integrates cognitive intelligence with robotic physical action through technologies including sensors, autonomous decision-making, and AI-driven task execution. FANUC said recent developments in artificial intelligence and large language models have accelerated industry interest in Physical AI applications for manufacturing and industrial automation. The new initiative builds on FANUC’s open robotics platform strategy and is intended to accelerate deployment of AI-enabled robotic systems across the company’s industrial robot portfolio.

FANUC robots support Robot Operating System (ROS) integration through the company’s open-source ROS drivers while also supporting technologies commonly used for AI development, including Python programming environments, high-speed communication interfaces for external robot control, and PLC integration capabilities. Google, through its Intrinsic robotics AI group, is a major contributor to ROS development and open robotics ecosystems supporting AI-enabled robotic applications.

According to FANUC, the collaboration is intended to simplify deployment of Physical AI systems by combining advanced AI technologies with FANUC’s industrial robotics platforms ranging from compact robots with 3 kg payload capacity through large industrial robotic systems supporting payloads up to 2.3 tons, including the company’s CRX collaborative robot series.

Since introducing its Physical AI system during the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo last December, FANUC stated that interest in AI-enabled robotics applications has continued growing across manufacturing environments. The company noted that more than 1,000 robots have already been shipped for Physical AI-related applications.

“Manufacturers are moving beyond the question of whether to use AI and focusing on how to apply it where it matters most—on the factory floor,” said Mike Cicco, President and CEO of FANUC America. “By combining FANUC’s industrial-grade robotics with Google’s advanced AI, we’re enabling customers to take on more complex, variable production while maintaining the reliability and performance that production environments demand.”

The collaboration reflects broader industry movement toward AI-enabled industrial robotics platforms capable of adapting to variable manufacturing conditions while supporting autonomous operation, flexible automation, and advanced robotic decision-making within production environments.

About FANUC America Corporation

FANUC America Corporation, a subsidiary of FANUC CORPORATION in Japan, develops industrial robotics, CNC systems, factory automation technologies, and ROBOMACHINE platforms for manufacturing and industrial applications throughout the Americas. Headquartered in Rochester Hills, Michigan, the company supplies industrial robotics and automation systems supporting automotive manufacturing, electronics production, aerospace, logistics, food processing, and industrial automation applications. FANUC’s robotics portfolio includes articulated industrial robots, collaborative robots, machine tending systems, motion control technologies, and AI-enabled automation platforms. For more information, please click here.

Source/Photo Credit: FANUC America

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