Universal Robots used IMTS 2026 in Chicago to unveil its Gen 7 cobot platform on September 14, replacing every major mechanical, electrical and software component of the Danish company's collaborative-robot stack in what parent Teradyne calls a decade-scale reset for the industry.
Three New Arms Built For Physical AI
The launch centers on three new g-Series arms - the UR10g with a 10 kg payload and 1,750 mm reach, the UR17g at 17 kg and 1,300 mm reach and the UR18g at 18 kg and 950 mm reach - which together cover most palletizing, machine-tending, welding and assembly workloads. Each ships with the new g-Series tool flange, an AI-ready wrist that supports wrist-mounted cameras, force-torque sensing, impedance control and an SP7 Smart Panel with safety-compliant freedrive.
New Brain, New Pendant, Same Ecosystem
Behind the arms sits the CB7 Core controller, which Universal Robots says packs 40% more compute power into a 30% smaller footprint than its predecessor and offers standalone or cabinet-integration variants with multi-network communication for PLCs, HMIs, MES platforms, IPCs and vision systems. The TP7 Core teach pendant is more than 20% lighter than the outgoing unit and adds a full-HD display, virtual joystick and configurable smart buttons. The refreshed hardware runs PolyScope X, an operating system with open APIs, ROS 2 support and ISO 10218-1 safety functionality that Universal Robots is positioning as a platform for physical-AI applications from vendors such as NVIDIA and Skild.
Positioning Against Chinese Rivals
The Gen 7 launch lands amid escalating pressure on Teradyne's cobot franchise from Chinese entrants like JAKA Robotics, which recently countersued Teradyne over patent claims, and it follows Universal Robots' emergency patch of a critical PolyScope 5 flaw earlier this year. "The robots of the AI era must be advanced, not complicated," said Jean-Pierre Hathout, president of Teradyne Robotics Group, whose group has been building the platform in parallel with a broader Teradyne push into physical AI, digital twins and simulation partnerships such as Vention's cobot-cell environment.
Reporting based on coverage from The Robot Report, Automation World, PR Newswire and Universal Robots materials.