Insider Brief
- Viam announced a partnership with Universal Robots that will make the UR Series collaborative robots a flagship hardware line as Viam expands its industrial automation platform, according to the company.
- The collaboration pairs Viam’s AI-powered software with Universal Robots’ cobots to automate labor-intensive manufacturing tasks—including fiberglass sanding, gelcoat and paint application, wood sanding and polishing—aimed at reducing delays and improving consistency amid ongoing labor shortages.
- Viam’s robotic block-sanding system, built on the UR Series and designed for yacht and marine manufacturers, is making its European debut at Metstrade 2025 following earlier demonstrations at IBEX 2025.
PRESS RELEASE — Viam, the modern software engineering platform for robotics, announced a new partnership with Universal Robots, the leading collaborative robot company. Universal Robots’ UR Series collaborative robots (cobots) will be a flagship hardware partner as Viam expands its industrial robotic solutions.
Viam provides manufacturers with all-in-one robotic solutions that transform production. Leveraging cobots from Universal Robots, Viam has developed an AI-powered robotic surfacing system that helps accelerate key manufacturing processes, reduce delays, and ensure consistency. As manufacturers struggle with ongoing labor shortages, Viam’s solutions can offer the opportunity to automate the most challenging and physically demanding tasks, unlocking new growth opportunities for companies and their teams.
“Viam’s intelligent software layer combined with Universal Robots’ cobots can enable rapid adoption of automation,” shared Viam Founder and CEO Eliot Horowitz. “They are a true industry leader in robotic hardware and will help us to scale our solutions globally, both in the marine sector and in manufacturing broadly.”
In the marine sector, Viam’s AI-powered robotic block sanding solution enables consistent and efficient fiberglass sanding, helping major yacht manufacturers and boatbuilders use automation to streamline operations. Traditionally, fiberglass sanding is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. Viam’s AI-powered system introduces automation to reduce manual effort and deliver measurable ROI for manufacturers.
Paired with Universal Robots’ versatile range of robotic arms, the system can adapt to diverse component sizes across marine manufacturing, from smaller parts to larger hulls. This allows Viam to offer the industry unmatched versatility through its hardware-agnostic intelligence layer, where arms can be easily switched out based on manufacturer needs.
In addition to marine applications, Viam’s adaptive automation solutions also extend to gelcoat and paint application, wood sanding, and polishing, all key processes in furniture, construction, and industrial manufacturing.
“We’re excited to partner with Viam,” says Jean-Pierre Hathout, President of the Teradyne Robotics Group. “Viam’s AI-powered software opens new applications for our collaborative robots and sets the stage for rapid innovation in the marine sector and across industries in the years ahead.”
This week, Viam’s robotic block sanding solution will make its European debut at Metstrade 2025, held from November 18–20 in Amsterdam. The solution, which features Universal Robots UR Series, was recently on view at IBEX 2025, the International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition & Conference, in Tampa, Florida. The Viam platform is hardware agnostic and can run on a wide range of robots and devices, from small sensors to the largest robotic arms. Viam has robotics laboratories at both its New York headquarters and in Italy, with engineers working across software and hardware to bring new solutions to market.
Image credit: Viam
