Thomas Unise
The Robot Report has opened nominations for its prestigious 2026 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards, continuing its tradition of recognizing groundbreaking robotics innovations since 2012. This annual program celebrates the most innovative organizations and robots worldwide, with winners to be honored at an awards gala during the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston on May 27-28, 2026.
Key Award Categories
The 2026 RBR50 Awards feature several distinct categories to recognize excellence across the robotics industry:
- Startup of the Year: For companies less than five years old that are already testing innovations with customers
- Application of the Year: Recognizing use cases that were previously difficult to automate and demonstrate clear benefits over traditional processes
- Robot of the Year: Honoring game-changing robots in terms of technology innovation, use case, and industry influence
- Robots for Good: Celebrating robots that make positive societal impacts by addressing social challenges or improving quality of life
- Products: Recognizing new robots, enabling technologies, and significant research
- Business: Highlighting major milestones, unique business models, and market leadership initiatives
- Applications: Acknowledging innovations that improve productivity, quality, and cost-effectiveness
Previous Winners
Past winners include Electric Sheep and Mytra (Startup of the Year), Brightpick and TEPCO (Application of the Year), Agility Robotics’ Digit humanoid and Waymo (Robot of the Year), and Hello Robot’s Stretch 3 mobile manipulator (Robots for Good).
Nomination Process
To be eligible, all innovations must have been initiated, released, or executed between January 1 and December 31, 2025. The submission deadline is Monday, December 22, 2025. Nominations require company information, innovation descriptions, supporting materials, and high-resolution images.
Winners will have the opportunity to showcase their systems at the Robotics Summit & Expo and receive complimentary tickets for two company representatives to attend the awards gala.
Recognition and Exposure
The RBR50 provides significant visibility for winners, who will be celebrated at the awards gala and have the opportunity to demonstrate their robots in the dedicated RBR50 Pavilion at the Robotics Summit expo floor.
This recognition program continues to highlight the most interesting and important robotics innovations worldwide, providing a platform for showcasing technological advancement and industry leadership in the robotics sector.
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