Kawasaki Robotics and Dexterity Expand Physical AI Partnership for Warehouse Automation

Kawasaki Robotics and Dexterity announced an expanded partnership centered on Kawasaki's RL030N eight degrees-of-freedom (8 DoF) robot arm platform and Dexterity's Mech warehouse robots, as the companies look to accelerate Physical AI deployments in warehouse logistics.

The companies said Dexterity is expanding production and deployment of Mech robots that use the RL030N robot arm for tasks such as trailer loading and trailer unloading. The announcement was made ahead of Automate 2026.

The collaboration brings together Kawasaki's industrial robot arm technology, Dexterity's Mech hardware platform, and the company's Foresight World Model, an AI system designed to help robots operate in dynamic physical environments. Dexterity has emerged as one of several companies pursuing Physical AI systems that combine robotics hardware with AI models capable of handling real-world variability.

Designed for Unpredictable Warehouse Work

Unlike traditional factory automation, warehouse environments present constantly changing conditions. Packages vary in size, weight, shape, and orientation, while boxes can shift or become damaged during handling.