Cobot’s Proxie Gen 2 robot adds autotasking, mobile manipulation

Collaborative Robtics’ Proxie 2.0 offers bimanual manipulation and autotasking. | Credit: Collaborative Robotics

Collaborative Robotics (Cobot) unveiled the second-generation version of its Proxie mobile robot, adding greater payload capacity, self-swapping batteries, autonomous task identification, and a new two-armed manipulation option as the company looks to expand deployments across healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company introduced Proxie Gen 2 at Automate 2026, positioning the system as a production-proven mobile manipulator.

“For decades, deploying robots has meant choosing between mobility and dexterity, and always required custom software integration,” said Collaborative Robotics founder and CEO Brad Porter. “Our second-generation Proxie brings all of that together in one platform we designed end-to-end.”

Cobot has spent the past two years quietly gathering operational data from customer deployments. According to the company, 28 Proxie robots have accumulated nearly 13,000 operating hours, traveled more than 22,000 miles, moved over 154,000 carts, and saved workers millions of steps. The robots have been deployed in environments ranging from hospitals and laboratories to manufacturing and logistics facilities.

Porter said the company intentionally prioritized field deployments over publicity.

“Our strategy has been to get into the field and run hours,” he told The Robot Report . “You have to go through multiple generations of hardware to harden it. Until you put up numbers in production, you don’t know where the stresses and breaks are.”

One notable deployment has been at the Mayo Clinic, where Proxie transports materials throughout the facility, supporting workflows ranging from laboratory operations to food services and medical equipment handling.

The experience generated more than 500 design insights that informed the redesign of nearly every subsystem in Gen 2. While key architectural elements such as the robot’s high-mounted sensor suite, vertical spine, swerve drive, and battery-swapping capabilities remain, Porter said the company rebuilt the platform from the ground up to improve reliability and manufacturability.

The result is a robot with 40% fewer parts, a smaller footprint for navigating tight hallways and elevators, and greater strength. Gen 2 can move carts weighing up to 1,500 lb. and lift up to 220 lb. on its vertical spine.

The company also upgraded the sensing package with additional lidar capabilities designed to support future safety certification efforts.