Intel Report Highlights Five Priorities for Scaling Robotics and Physical AI

Robotics is no longer a distant bet on the future—it is becoming a strategic priority for the next five years. However, according to Intel’s latest Robotics Readiness Gap report, many organizations are moving faster toward robotic adoption than their current operating models are prepared to support.

The study identifies a clear disconnect between ambition and operational readiness. Six out of ten senior leaders expect their organizations to operate robotic workforces within the next five years, yet only four in ten have established formal strategies for managing teams in which humans and robots work side by side. Closing this gap will be critical as robotics moves from experimentation to large-scale deployment.

The research, conducted by Man Bites Dog and Coleman Parkes Research, surveyed 800 senior business and IT executives, robotics specialists, and government and healthcare officials across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, China, and South Korea. All participating organizations reported annual revenues of more than $500 million.

The findings reinforce that robotics has already moved beyond the experimental stage. Organizations that have deployed robots are reporting measurable improvements in productivity, service quality, and operational speed. Increasingly, businesses view robotics not simply as a pilot initiative, but as an essential capability for remaining competitive.

> “The next phase of robotics adoption will not be defined by whether organizations can deploy robots, but by whether they are prepared to scale them. Companies that integrate robotics and physical AI into their core operations, rather than simply adding them onto existing systems, will be best positioned to capture the value of this transformation.”
>
> — John Healy, Vice President and General Manager, Robotics and Industrial AI, Intel

Five Dimensions of Robotics Readiness

Intel’s research highlights five areas that will determine whether organizations successfully scale robotics or remain stuck at the pilot stage.

Strategy:Two-thirds (67%) of executives believe their organizations will be prepared to manage human-robot workforces by 2030. Yet only 40% currently have a formal strategy in place for human-robot collaboration.

Skills:Around two-thirds of leaders believe robotics will enhance rather than reduce employee skill levels. At the same time, 40% say shortages of skilled workers and talent are preventing their organizations from expanding robotics at scale. This highlights the need for workforce development alongside technological investment.

Safety:Safety is viewed by 31% of leaders as the area where robotics could deliver the greatest value. However, 55% say safety concerns are slowing deployment, while 68% believe clearer global safety standards would accelerate adoption.

Form Factor:Performance remains more important than appearance for most organizations, with 77% of leaders prioritizing robotic performance over physical design. Nevertheless, 65% believe the current size and form factor of robots are still shaped more by technological constraints than by actual operational requirements.

Scale:More than three-quarters of respondents say critical robotic applications need to make decisions within 100 milliseconds, while nearly one-quarter require response times of less than 10 milliseconds. To meet these demands, 42% of organizations already have clearly defined and funded edge or on-device AI strategies, while another 39% are actively developing them.

Robotics and Physical AI Converge

Robotics and physical AI are rapidly emerging as the next frontier of enterprise transformation. By bringing AI-powered perception, reasoning, and decision-making into dynamic real-world environments, these technologies are enabling machines to operate more intelligently and autonomously across a growing range of industries.

As robotics moves from isolated pilot projects toward large-scale deployment, the challenge is no longer simply proving that the technology works. Organizations need the infrastructure, computing capabilities, security, workforce skills, and operational strategies required to deploy it reliably at scale.

Intel is working to address this readiness gap by providing technologies across the computing spectrum, from edge AI processors to the Intel Robotics AI Suite and OpenVINO physical AI tools. Together, these technologies are designed to help organizations move AI and robotics from controlled experiments into real-world production environments.

The future of robotics will therefore depend not only on more capable machines, but also on the infrastructure and operational readiness surrounding them. Organizations that begin preparing today will be better positioned to turn physical AI and robotics into scalable, long-term business advantages.