Viam, a modern software platform for robotics, has announced a strategic partnership with Universal Robots, a global leader in collaborative robots (cobots). This alliance establishes Universal Robots' UR Series as a flagship hardware partner for Viam as it expands its industrial automation solutions, aiming to help manufacturers overcome labor shortages and streamline complex production tasks.
Quick Intel
Viam has formed a new partnership with collaborative robot leader Universal Robots.
The UR Series cobots will be a flagship hardware for Viam's industrial solutions.
A key solution is an AI-powered robotic surfacing system for manufacturing.
It addresses labor-intensive processes like fiberglass sanding in the marine industry.
The system is hardware-agnostic, allowing different robotic arms to be swapped.
The technology also applies to gelcoat, paint, and wood sanding in other sectors.
The partnership directly tackles persistent issues in manufacturing, including labor shortages and the need for consistent, high-quality output in physically demanding jobs. By combining Viam's intelligent software with Universal Robots' versatile cobots, the companies have developed an AI-powered robotic surfacing system. This system is designed to accelerate key processes, reduce delays, and ensure a level of consistency that is difficult to achieve manually.
A primary application for the new partnership is in the marine sector, where Viam's AI-powered block sanding solution automates the labor-intensive process of fiberglass sanding for yacht and boat manufacturers. This traditionally time-consuming task can now be handled with greater efficiency and consistency, delivering a measurable return on investment for manufacturers by reducing manual labor and streamlining operations.
A key strength of the Viam platform is its hardware-agnostic nature. While Universal Robots' cobots are the flagship partner, the system can adapt to diverse component sizes by easily switching out robotic arms based on a manufacturer's specific needs. This versatility, powered by Viam's software intelligence layer, allows the same core technology to be applied to various tasks beyond sanding, including gelcoat and paint application, wood sanding, and polishing across furniture, construction, and industrial manufacturing.
The partnership between Viam and Universal Robots represents a significant step in making advanced, AI-driven automation more accessible to a broader range of manufacturers. By uniting leading hardware with a flexible, intelligent software platform, this collaboration is set to unlock new growth opportunities and enable companies to automate their most challenging production tasks with greater speed and confidence.
About Viam:
Viam brings modern software engineering to robotics, with everything companies need to build and run intelligent machines. The Viam platform enables engineers of all disciplines to collaborate efficiently and build robotic solutions that are fast and future-proof. Viam powers solutions across sectors, including manufacturing, marine, climate, logistics, entertainment and more. Founded in 2020 by MongoDB co-founder and former CTO Eliot Horowitz, Viam is headquartered in New York City. viam.com
About Universal Robots:
Universal Robots is a global leader in collaborative robotics (cobots), used across a wide range of industries. Our mission is simple: Automation for anyone. Anywhere. With over 100,000 cobots sold worldwide, our user-friendly platform is supported by intuitive PolyScope software, award-winning training, comprehensive services, and the world's largest cobot ecosystem, delivering innovation and choice to our customers. Universal Robots is part of Teradyne Robotics, a division of Teradyne (NASDAQ:TER), a leading supplier of automatic test equipment and advanced robotics technology.
TechIntelPro empowers B2B technology decision-makers with the latest industry trends, deep insights, leadership perspectives and actionable intelligence to drive both organizational and professional milestones—and thrive on the tech pulse.