WarehouseFactory robot arms
Industrial robot arms
by FANUC, ABB, KUKA, Yaskawa, and others
Industrial robots are the robot arms and other programmable machines that work in factories. A record 5 million were at work worldwide in 2025, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), an industry body that counts them each year. IFR press release, 24 Sept 2026
- Evidence
- Independently reported
- Human help
- None reported
- Last milestone
- 2025
01Can I get it?
Yes, in places
- Where it works today
- Factories worldwide. China installs the most, followed by the United States and Japan. IFR press release, 24 Sept 2026
- Published price
- No published price in our sources.
- Human help
- Our sources report it working without human help.
02Track record
What has actually happened
Every milestone is dated and links to the page it comes from. Lines marked company-reported rest on the maker's own word.
Mass market · sets the stage
The number of industrial robots at work worldwide rose 9% to a record 5 million.
03Promised vs delivered
What the maker said, and when
Dated targets the maker set in public, against what has happened since.
- Said24 Sept 2026
655,000 installs in 2026
The IFR forecast that installations would rise 9% to 655,000 in 2026 and reach 806,000 in 2029. IFR press release, 24 Sept 2026
Still pending
04Safety and incidents
What has gone wrong
No crashes, recalls or regulator reports in our sources. That is not proof none happened; we add them when a regulator or trusted outlet reports one.
How we placed it
The rule, not an opinion
Stages are worked out by published rules from the dated milestones above. We never rate robots, and no maker can pay to change a stage.
- 5
Regulator-cleared or mass marketThis robot
A regulator has cleared it where approval applies: FDA clearance or approval for a medical robot, a permit to run with no one aboard for a self-driving vehicle, or an FAA approval for routine drone flights. Or: Widely sold: sales in the hundreds of thousands, or a product category you can buy in ordinary shops.
Placed by: Factories around the world installed more than 600,000 new industrial robots in 2025, up 11% on the year before (2025); The number of industrial robots at work worldwide rose 9% to a record 5 million (2025).
- 4
Paying customers
Delivered to customers who pay for it, beyond a trial, or a paid service the public can use.
- 3
Pilot
Working with a named customer in a real setting, as a trial.
- 2
Pre-orders
Orders, reservations or deposits taken, with nothing delivered yet.
- 1
Demo only
Shown in videos, staged events or a factory, with no units working for customers.
What we couldn't confirm. The IFR is an industry association, but its yearly counts are the standard figures used by reporters and governments. Maker-by-maker sales were not checked.
Sources
Cite this page
Robotics Verdict. “Industrial robot arms (FANUC, ABB, KUKA, Yaskawa, and others): how far has it got?” roboticsverdict.com/robots/industrial-robot-arms. Checked 19 October 2026.
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