Robotics roadmaps from around the world spotlight of the month: United States of America

US robotics researchers and industry groups are pushing for a unified national robotics strategy, arguing that America's historically laissez-faire, innovation-first approach has left it dependent on foreign imports for industrial robots despite leading in R&D. The Department of Defense has become a major funder of autonomous systems, with the FY2026 budget requesting $13.4 billion and $53.6 billion proposed for 2027, while private defense-tech venture capital hit $19.8 billion in Q1 2026. Federal robotics funding remains fragmented across NSF, DOE, NIH, NASA, the ARM Institute, and DARPA, with no centralized coordinating body. In response, industry group A3, think tank SCSP, and academics led by Henrik Christensen have each published their own national robotics strategy proposals, while Congress has introduced bills like the National Commission on Robotics Act and American Security Robotics Act to address supply chain vulnerabilities and China-related security concerns.

Source: https://robohub.org/robotics-roadmaps-from-around-the-world-spotlight-of-the-month-united-states-of-america. 8 Sync News only summarizes and links out; content copyright belongs to the authors and original sources.