Sanctuary AI announced this week that it has achieved a new milestone toward deploying the Vancouver company’s proprietary Physical AI technology on existing and next-generation industrial robotic systems.
Sanctuary says it achieved “world-class performance and innovation on a complex wire plugging production task with a global Tier 1 automotive supplier.”
Involving a plug insertion requiring manipulation of flexible materials that shift dynamically while moving on a conveyor, the task was completed every 2.5 seconds with a 99.5% success rate.
“Manipulating a flexible wire into a moving target on a live conveyor is exactly the kind of contact-rich dexterity problem that has kept tasks like this out of reach for traditional automation,” says cofounder Olivia Norton. “Solving it required models built around performance from day one with reliability, cycle time, and safety measured against real production benchmarks.”
“That’s the bar Physical AI has to clear to matter in enterprise environments, and it’s the bar we’ve now cleared,” Norton said.
This strategy represents a “significant evolution” to Sanctuary AI’s approach, according to a statement from the company.
Rather than waiting for humanoid hardware to reach mass commercialization, the B.C. company is deploying Physical AI on existing commercial platforms.
This hardware-agnostic approach expedites industrial adoption of Physical AI, says Norton, while building the foundation that will support the next generation of intelligent robotic systems, including industrial humanoids.
“Physical AI adoption is gated by AI that meets both performance and cycle time requirements,” says Norton. “That’s what customers are seeking, and that’s what we are delivering.”
“By focusing on a performance-first approach to Physical AI models, we’re delivering value to customers today, on an AI platform that will also scale to the next generation of general-purpose systems,” stated the CTO.
“For industrial leaders who need a labour solution, Sanctuary AI deploys Physical AI on commercially available robotic systems to deliver production-ready performance on tasks traditional automation can’t reliably handle,” reads a statement from the firm. “Our Physical AI is built for multi-embodiment, supporting diverse hardware configurations, mobility options and end effectors, with a path to humanoids.”
Founded in 2018, Sanctuary AI underwent a “significant transition” in 2024, including the controversial departure of cofounder and chief executive officer Geordie Rose, a “pioneering force and visionary in the development of human-like intelligence and humanoid robotics.”
Since then, the robotics innovator has been pushing for capital and advancing its technologies.
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