Universal Robots Unveils Gen 7 Platform at IMTS 2026
UR unveiled Gen 7 at IMTS 2026: three new g-Series cobot arms plus a new OS, controller, tool flange and pendant, all launched as one platform.
Universal Robots, the Teradyne Robotics-owned cobot maker, used the opening day of IMTS 2026 in Chicago to unveil Gen 7, the seventh-generation version of its collaborative-robot platform — a coordinated redesign touching the arm, controller, teach pendant, tool interface and operating system together, rather than shipping a single new arm on the existing stack. Announced September 14 and distributed via press release the following day, Gen 7 is anchored by a new operating system called PolyScope X, a new “CB7 Core” controller, a new “g-Series” tool flange, a new “TP7 Core” teach pendant, a companion “SP7 Smart Panel” control interface, and three new robot arms.
“Built on what we have learned from over 20 years of cobot innovation and more than 100,000 industrial deployments worldwide, Gen 7 is an end-to-end redesign of our platform that reduces integration friction and dramatically expands application capabilities,” said Jean-Pierre Hathout, president of the Teradyne Robotics Group.
Three new arms, named by payload and reach
The three new g-Series arms are the UR10g-1750 (10 kg payload, 1750 mm reach), the UR17g-1300 (17 kg payload, 1300 mm reach) and the UR18g-950 (18 kg payload, 950 mm reach). Universal Robots’ release spells out the naming logic directly: the arms are “named after their payload (kg) and reach (mm).” That convention and those numbers appear consistently in the PR Newswire release and in Automation World’s independent write-up, the two sources this desk cross-checked line by line.
Universal Robots is explicit that the g-Series arms are “joining the e-Series and UR Series lineup,” not replacing it — a distinction worth sitting with. The heaviest cobot in UR’s catalog remains the UR30, rated at 35 kg, more than the new UR18g-950 carries. The Robot Report separately notes the new arms are “larger than some of its previous models,” but Gen 7 reads as a platform-unification announcement, not a payload-record one. The new CB7 Core controller is built to run the existing e-Series and UR Series arms as well as the new g-Series, the more consequential compatibility claim for an installed base of more than 100,000 UR robots already in service.
What actually changed under the hood
PolyScope X, the new operating system, carries “modern programming tools, ISO 10218-1 safety functionality and cybersecurity compliance,” plus open APIs and ROS2 communication aimed at edge-AI applications — a shift toward letting outside software, not just UR’s own programming environment, drive the robot. The CB7 Core controller claims “40% more compute power in a 30% smaller footprint” than prior generations, ships in standalone and compact cabinet-integration versions, and adds multi-network connectivity for PLCs, HMIs, MES platforms, industrial PCs and vision systems — a company comparison against UR’s own previous controller, not an independently benchmarked figure in any of the five sources reviewed.
The new g-Series tool flange, the physical connector between arm and end-effector, now carries built-in force-torque sensing, impedance control and RTDE (Real-Time Data Exchange), delivering vision, sensing, data, power and safety signals through one interface instead of external cabling. Two new interface devices round out the refresh: the TP7 Core teach pendant, “more than 20% lighter” than its predecessor with a full HD display, virtual joystick and configurable buttons, and the separate SP7 Smart Panel, a smaller panel mounted at the tool flange with safety-compliant freedrive, LED status lights and three configurable buttons for programming Smart Skills at the point of work.
Certifications — company claim versus third-party mark
Universal Robots states that Gen 7’s safety functions deliver a “PLd, Category 3 (ISO 13849-1) certified architecture,” and that “all g-Series robots are TÜV certified to ISO 10218-1 and UL 1740” — a genuine third-party mark, since TÜV is named explicitly as the certifying body in the company’s own release. Separately, the company states that “Teradyne Robotics is certified to IEC 62443-4-1 ML3 for cybersecurity.” That claim reads differently: no independent certifying organization is named alongside it in any of the five sources this desk reviewed, so it should be read as a company-stated certification rather than a confirmed third-party one until Teradyne Robotics names who issued it.
An open platform, or an open door for partners
At IMTS, Universal Robots said Gen 7 was on display alongside “20+ ecosystem partners,” with live demonstrations specifically named from seven: Cognex, Schunk, Magswitch, Smooth Robotics, Psyonic, Robotiq and Inbolt. “Universal Robots and Inbolt share the same conviction, that automation should be simple to deploy and simple to live with,” said Rudy Cohen, Inbolt’s CEO, in the release. “With Gen 7 and PolyScope X, Inbolt’s vision now runs natively” on the platform — an early signal that PolyScope X’s open APIs are meant to pull third-party vision and AI software onto UR hardware directly.
The launch lands against a competitive and legal backdrop this desk has covered before: Teradyne Robotics is currently in a patent dispute with rival cobot maker Jaka before the Unified Patent Court, and reported its most recent quarterly results in Teradyne Robotics’ Q2 2026 earnings. For background on where the existing e-Series lineup sits in the market, see this site’s Universal Robots robot guide and full Universal Robots brand page, including the current top-of-line UR20, which shares its 1750 mm reach figure with the new UR10g-1750 while carrying twice the payload.
Sources
- Universal Robots unveils Gen 7, a new platform for industrial automation and physical AI deployment — PR Newswire, Sep 15, 2026
- Universal Robots Unveils Gen 7 Platform at IMTS 2026 in Chicago — Automation World, Sep 14, 2026
- Universal Robots launches its seventh generation robot platform at IMTS — The Robot Report, Sep 14, 2026
- Universal Robots unveils Gen 7, new platform for industrial automation, physical AI — Universal Robots (Teradyne Robotics) newsroom, Sep 14, 2026
- IMTS 2026: Universal Robots unveils Gen 7 robotics platform for industrial automation and physical AI deployment — Robotics 24/7, Sep 14, 2026
Frequently asked questions
Does Gen 7 replace Universal Robots' existing e-Series and UR Series arms? +
No. Universal Robots' own release says the three new g-Series arms are 'joining the e-Series and UR Series lineup,' and the new CB7 Core controller is explicitly built to work with those existing arms too. The highest-payload cobot in UR's catalog remains the e-Series-era UR30, rated at 35 kg, well above the new UR18g-950's 18 kg.
What do the new arms' model numbers mean? +
Universal Robots' press release states the three new g-Series arms are 'named after their payload (kg) and reach (mm).' So the UR10g-1750 carries a 10 kg payload with 1750 mm reach, the UR17g-1300 carries 17 kg with 1300 mm reach, and the UR18g-950 carries 18 kg with 950 mm reach.
Is the IEC 62443-4-1 cybersecurity certification independently verified? +
Partially confirmable. Universal Robots' own materials state that its parent, Teradyne Robotics, 'is certified to IEC 62443-4-1 ML3 for cybersecurity,' but unlike the ISO 10218-1 and UL 1740 claims — which the company explicitly attributes to TÜV as the certifying body — no third-party certifier is named for the IEC 62443-4-1 claim in any of the five sources reviewed for this story. Treat it as a company-stated certification unless Teradyne Robotics names the issuing body.
When can integrators actually buy g-Series arms? +
None of the five sources reviewed for this story disclose pricing or a general-availability date. Universal Robots showed working g-Series units and ecosystem-partner demos on the show floor at IMTS 2026 in Chicago, which runs through September 19, but did not state when orders open.
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