AI Software Becomes Top Priority for Robotics Developers, Forcing PLC Evolution
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AI Software Becomes Top Priority for Robotics Developers, Forcing PLC Evolution
The industrial automation landscape is approaching an inflection point. As robotics systems become increasingly software-defined and AI-enabled, the programmable logic controller (PLC) , long the undisputed backbone of factory-floor control , faces its most significant architectural challenge in decades. A newly released global benchmark study from QNX, a division of BlackBerry Limited, exposes a
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, based on a survey of 1,000 robotics developers worldwide, paints a picture of an industry in transition , one where software is simultaneously the greatest enabler and the most stubborn bottleneck.
The global PLC market, valued at approximately USD 17 billion in 2025 and projected to reach USD 25.26 billion by 2034, is being reshaped by the same forces identified in the QNX study. The convergence of IT and OT, edge AI, and software-defined automation means PLC vendors can no longer treat robotics integration as a simple I/O handshake. The control layer must evolve or risk being bypassed by AI-native architectures.
The headline finding from the QNX study is stark: 89% of robotics developers say Physical AI , embodied intelligence that drives real-world robotic actions , is critical to their future plans. Yet the same cohort identifies software as the single biggest inhibitor to robotics innovation. Looking ahead, 85% of developers expect software to play an even greater role in robotics over the next three to five years.
This is not a marginal shift. It represents a fundamental reordering of priorities on the development floor. Where mechanical design, power systems, and kinematics once dominated engineering attention, the software stack , operating systems, middleware, AI inference engines, and cybersecurity layers , is now absorbing the bulk of strategic investment.
Source: QNX Inside the Robot: Architecture Benchmark Report, May 2026. Survey of 1,000 robotics developers worldwide.
Perhaps the most revealing , and concerning , data point from the study concerns the operating system layer. The research found that 91% of respondents run real-time or safety-critical workloads, at least in part, on general-purpose operating systems (GPOS). This is despite the same developers rating safety-certified commercial real-time operating systems (RTOS) as the best technical fit for their requirements.
This disconnect has direct implications for PLC-based control architectures. PLCs have historically provided the hard real-time, deterministic execution that GPOS cannot guarantee. But as robotics workcells become more autonomous , making AI-driven decisions at the edge, processing vision data, and adapting to unstructured environments , the clean separation between "PLC handles control, robot controller handles motion" begins to blur.
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