New Intel Research Identifies Most Companies Not Ready for Human Robot Collaboration
August 25, 2026
News
According to new Intel research, “The Robotics Readiness Gap,” robotics is not the future, but a plan for the next five years. However, data gathered highlights that most companies are expanding at a quicker pace than what their operating models can support.
In collaboration with Man Bites Dog and Coleman Parkes Research, the study consisted of 800 senior business leaders, IT leaders, robotics specialists, government, and healthcare officials from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, China, and South Korea. Those involved in the study were reported as representing organizations with annual revenue exceeding $500 million.
Once the survey was compiled, the main outcome to report from the research shows that six in 10 senior leaders believe robotics will be operating within their companies in five years, but only four in 10 currently have a real approach to operating a heterogenous human and robot environment.
"The next phase of robotics adoption won't be defined by whether organizations can deploy robots — it will be defined by whether they're ready to scale them. Those that embed robotics and Physical AI into their core operations, rather than layering them on top of existing systems, will be the ones who capture the full value of this shift.,” commented John Healy, Vice President and General Manager, Industrial and Robotics Division, Intel.
Intel’s research has recognized the following five factors that seperate successful robotic readiness programs to those that are just thinking about implementation :
- Strategy: Two-thirds (67%) of leaders are confident that their organization will be ready to manage a mixed human–robot workforce by 2030. Yet only 40% currently have a formal human-robot workforce strategy in place
- Skills: Two-thirds of leaders believe robotics will make their human workforce more skilled, not less. At the same time, four in 10 report that the availability of skills and talent is blocking their organization from scaling robotics.
- Safety: 31% of leaders cite safety as the area where robotics has delivered the greatest value. Meanwhile, 55% say safety concerns have delayed robotics deployment and 68% believe clearer global safety standards would help accelerate adoption.
- Shape: 77% of leaders say robotic performance matters more than appearance. Yet nearly two-thirds (65%) believe the ‘form factor’ of robots is currently dictated by technology limitations rather than real-world need
- Scale: More than three-quarters of leaders say critical robotics applications require decisions within 100 milliseconds, with almost a quarter requiring responses in less than 10 milliseconds. Currently, 42% of organizations have a defined, funded edge or on device AI strategy, while 39% are actively developing one.
For more information, visit intel.com/robotics, Intel Robotics AI Suite, and OpenVINO Physical AI.
Chad Cox is the Production Editor at Embedded Computing Design. His responsibilities are centered around content creation, writing and editing, and article research and development. Chad covers industry news and events and is known to interact with various industrial leaders via on-premise visits and online interviews. He is responsible for the digital footprint and dissemination of news via social media posts, advertising creation and the production of newsletters including the Embedded Computing Design’s Daily.
He is well versed in many facets of industrial computing including Edge AI, IoT, Processing, Security, Open Source, and more.
Chad graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a B.A. in Cultural and Analytical Literature and holds a master’s in education.
