Robot Ready: The U.S. Needs a National Robotics Strategy Now

February 11, 2026

The age of autonomy and advanced robotics is here, and dominance in this industry will determine who leads the next industrial revolution. This is not hyperbole: AI-powered robotics are already transforming entire sectors, reshaping factories, supply chains, infrastructure, and defense, and creating new economic and strategic landscapes. The United States must be prepared to compete.

That urgency is why AUVSI, together with a coalition of policymakers and industry leaders, recently launched the bipartisan Partnership for Robotics Competitiveness (PfRC), an initiative to advance federal policy and a National Robotics Strategy to secure U.S. leadership in robotics and physical AI.

The U.S. must successfully deploy robotics at scale to secure higher productivity, a stronger industrial base, and greater resilience, and to ensure the robotics industry delivers good jobs, enhanced safety, and lasting prosperity. Otherwise, America risks dependence on foreign technology, exposure to PRC leverage and supply-chain shocks, and weaker global competitiveness.

Why the Partnership for Robotics Competitiveness—and a National Strategy—Matter Now

The U.S. leads the world in robotics innovation, but without a coherent national framework, that advantage cannot be fully realized. Federal policy is fragmented, procurement pathways are inconsistent, and issues like workforce readiness, liability, and safety are often addressed reactively. Meanwhile, global competitors are advancing coordinated, state-backed strategies that align industrial policy, supply chains, workforce development, and government demand to accelerate adoption at scale. The result is a growing gap between U.S. technological leadership and deployment.

The PfRC exists to close that gap. It frames robotics and autonomy as strategic infrastructure, emphasizing coordination over prescription and ensuring federal policy supports secure supply chains, workforce readiness, responsible deployment, and long-term competitiveness. With investment in advanced robotics surging and policymakers increasingly focused on national security, industrial resilience, and global competition, there has never been a more critical moment to act.

XPONENTIAL: A Forum for Shaping the Future of Robotics

A national robotics strategy must be informed by real-world developments. AUVSI’s XPONENTIAL 2026 conference this May will convene policymakers, industry leaders, and technologists to explore the challenges and opportunities shaping robotics, autonomy, and uncrewed systems.

With participants from more than 20 industries and 60 countries, over 550 exhibitors, and hands-on demonstrations spanning mobility, defense, infrastructure, energy, and public safety, XPONENTIAL provides a snapshot of how robotics is reshaping the economy and national security that can help guide a national strategy. Key sessions focused on actionable insights include:

• Robotics Policy in the 21st Century: How federal policy can support innovation, strengthen supply chains, and advance national security.
• Moving Targets: Navigating evolving procurement and funding mechanisms to accelerate adoption in government and industry.
• Guardrails for Innovation: Managing operational, legal, and cybersecurity risk without slowing progress.
• Adventures in Human-Robot Teaming: How collaboration between humans and robots is transforming industrial workflows and workforce requirements.

XPONENTIAL provides stakeholders a space to surface challenges, share insights, and explore decisions that will shape U.S. leadership in robotics and autonomy. AUVSI’s new robotics white paper outlines PfRC’s vision for a National Robotics Strategy and provides a roadmap for policymakers and industry, while the conference will be a forum to test, debate, expand, and refine those ideas in real time.

The Path Forward

Robotics and physical AI will define the next era of U.S. economic and national security leadership. Success depends not just on innovation but on the ability to deploy, scale, and sustain these technologies responsibly, and that requires coordinated action across government, industry, and academia.

The Partnership for Robotics Competitiveness provides the policy framework to align innovation with deployment. XPONENTIAL brings together the leaders responsible for making that alignment real.

The time to act is now: the U.S. must get Robot Ready.

Contact Grant Baker to learn more about joining the PfRC.