Flex Executive: Cobots, AMRs & Physical AI Move from Pilot to Scale

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Rodrigo DallOglio, President of Operational Excellence and Transformation at Flex , one of the world's largest contract manufacturers , recently offered a rare, ground-level perspective on what it actually takes to move collaborative robots (cobots), autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), and physical AI from isolated success stories into globally consistent production systems.

Flex's dual role , deploying Teradyne Robotics solutions (Universal Robots cobots and MiR AMRs) inside its own factories while simultaneously manufacturing the components that power those same systems , creates a feedback loop rarely seen in industrial automation. This positions Flex as both a customer and a supplier, generating real-world validation data that pure-play robotics firms cannot replicate.

The industrial robotics sector is awash in venture funding and press coverage, yet the bottleneck is not algorithmic sophistication , it is manufacturing discipline. As DallOglio's experience at Flex reveals, physical AI systems face a "sim-to-real" gap that is measurable in cycle time, yield rates, and integration complexity. The fragmentation of legacy PLC architectures across different factories compounds the challenge exponentially.

"Working closely with Teradyne Robotics as an automation partner allows us to scale intelligent automation while supporting increasingly complex manufacturing environments for customers in electronics, industrial equipment, data center infrastructure, and other critical sectors," DallOglio stated, underscoring a fundamental truth: partnerships, not isolated technology bets, unlock scale.

While humanoid robots dominate media attention and venture capital flows, the operational reality on factory floors tells a different story. At Automate 2025, Teradyne Robotics Group President Ujjwal Kumar delivered a keynote that drew a sharp line between technological spectacle and industrial need: cobots and AMRs are delivering measurable improvements in quality, accuracy, productivity, and profitability today , humanoids are not yet ready for widespread manufacturing deployment.

This pragmatism is reflected in Flex's partnership strategy. By standardizing on Universal Robots cobots and MiR AMRs , both Teradyne Robotics companies , Flex is building a repeatable automation architecture across its global footprint. The PLC integration layer becomes critical here: cobots and AMRs must communicate seamlessly with existing programmable logic controllers, MES systems, and factory networks to achieve true interoperability.

China's share of global cobot shipments surged from 28.9% in 2018 to 54.7% in 2025 and could reach 61.4% by 2030. This geographic concentration is reshaping supply chains, pricing dynamics, and the competitive landscape for PLC and controls vendors globally.