From 12 to 16 October, the 26th China International Industry Fair opens in Shanghai, and KUKA will use it to launch “KAI”, short for KUKA Advanced Intelligence, under the theme “AI, embodied”. The pitch is not one smart device but a full factory layer: one brain that spans every product, software and line.
KAI is built in five layers, from the L0 device layer to the L4 application layer, with data as the base, a digital twin as the virtual mirror, and multi-agent execution on top. KUKA lists three claims: end-to-end delivery from consulting to IT/OT integration and agent customisation, modular capabilities that plug in or out, and an open base centred on its own robots but compatible with third-party gear.
The “AI, embodied” line lands in three product blocks. On software, Visual Components CN debuts as the simulation layer where industrial-AI decisions are proven safe in a virtual environment before they reach real equipment, directly answering the hallucination and uncertainty that keep models off the line. On product, KUKA shows an embodied matrix on its Eagles-X brain-model so one AI mind drives many robot forms across handling, assembly and sorting, alongside the LBR NEXUS cobot with native AI vision and natural-language start-up. On scenario, a welding cell ships ready to plug in.
The fair floor carries the argument into real industries. In semiconductors, KUKA must show ±0.05 mm wafer handling inside a cleanroom. In foundries, it must show adaptive grinding of complex curves. On the floor, the question is whether AI can read a weld seam and write its own path. KUKA’s answer is that the value is not in the lab but in the factory.
The backdrop is policy: China’s manufacturing plan names embodied intelligence and bio-manufacturing as priorities, and Shanghai and Guangzhou have rolled out support. KUKA is reading that as a mandate to turn industrial AI from a screen demo into a delivered productivity layer.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original OFweek report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience. The full original (in Chinese) is at https://robot.ofweek.com/2026-10/ART-8321202-8220-30706146.html.