Collaborative robots earned their classification by being compatible with and adaptable to almost any working condition that a manufacturer could identify. They collaborate with machinists and welders, and fabricators of all sorts. Now, artificial intelligence has entered the collaboration, and its no surprise that cobot pioneer Universal Robots has placed those emerging capabilities precisely at the point where intelligence may be gathered and put to use: in the cobot’s control box, through the teach pendant, and in the tool flange.

More than a decade since Universal Robots established itself as the pioneering developer of collaborative technologies in manufacturing operations, UR unveiled its seventh-generation robot platform on September 13, at IMTS 2026. It calls Gen 7 “a unified system upgrade, enhancing the exceptional robot user experience that operators, engineers, and integrators already prefer to work with every day.”

“The robots of the AI era must be advanced, not complicated,” stated Jean-Pierre Hathout, president of UR parent company Teradyne Robotics Group. “Built on what we have learned from over 20 years of cobot innovation and more than 100,000 industrial deployments worldwide, Gen 7 is an end-to-end redesign of our platform that reduces integration friction and dramatically expands application capabilities. It will enable our customers and partners across industries to confidently deploy advanced AI-powered applications in real-world operations.”

Artificial intelligence is the coordinating principle guiding UR’s new platform. Gen 7 introduces three new cobot arms with progressively higher payloads and reaches, all outfitted with an AI-capable tool flange. The g-Series tool flange makes it possible to deploy vision and sensing capabilities that coordinate with AI in real time with the robot, bringing data, power, and safety control to the business end of the cobot. There is no complex cabling required, opening the possibilities for cameras and high-bandwidth sensors to coordinate with advanced automation programs.

Also, the cobot is able to adopt built-in force-torque sensing, impedance control, and Real-Time Data Exchange (RTDE) functions, making it compatible with physical AI applications like tool manipulation and assembly work.

Driving the Gen 7 platform is the CB7 core controller, with greater computing potential than previous cobot series but in 30% less space. It’s capable of multi-network communication with automation and AI networks, effectively linking to PLCs, HMIs, MES platforms, IPCs, and vision systems. The CB7 controller is available in a standalone, control box and in a compact version that can be integrated with automation cabinets.

Gen 7 platform set-up is coordinated via PolyScope X, which consolidates up-to-date programming tools with safety functionality and cybersecurity compliance. It offers open APIs and ROS2 communication, so machine and robot programmers can apply “edge-AI applications” using external AI processing. And integrators can access further advanced robot functions and application software from third-party developers.

The Gen 7 TP7 Core teach pendant is over 20% lighter than previous versions, and more ergonomic with multiple grip positions, configurable smart buttons, a full HD display, and a “virtual joystick.”

The pendant “is designed to stay comfortable through long shifts and to make programming feel intuitive rather than technical, so operators spend less time learning the interface and more time getting the job done,” according to UR.

Another teach/program option is the SP7 Smart Panel, for installing commands directly at the tool flange. Smart Panel allows operators to work at the point of a task, cutting set-up and programming time where touch-to-teach or operator interaction is important.

Gen 7 has been developed with input from UR partners (including Cognex, Schunk, Magswitch, Smooth Robotics, Psyonic, Robotiq, and Inbolt, among others) whose technologies coordinate with Universal Robots’ hardware and software to bring advanced capabilities for physical AI, machine vision, and gripping to the workplace.

As capsulized by Universal Robots, its seventh-generation platform is a “controller to tool flange” redesign, ready to collaborate with AI engines out-of-the-box, so manufacturers have the advanced software tools and connectivity functions that now define collaborative automation.