Proxie Gen 2 Drives Production

Proxie Gen 2 logged 13,000 hours and saved workers millions of steps. At Automate 2026, Collaborative Robotics unveiled the second generation of its Proxie mobile robot, a platform the company says combines mobility and dexterity in one end-to-end package. The Gen 2 upgrade increases payload, adds self swapping batteries, autonomous task identification, and introduces a two armed manipulation option, aiming to push field deployments from pilots to full production across healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing.

“For decades, deploying robots has meant choosing between mobility and dexterity, and always required custom software integration,” said Brad Porter, founder and CEO of Collaborative Robotics. “Our second-generation Proxie brings all of that together in one platform we designed end-to-end.” The company has spent two years gathering field data rather than chasing publicity, using real deployments to harden hardware and validate performance on real work.

The numbers behind those claims are substantial. The fleet tally shows 28 Proxie robots accumulating nearly 13,000 operating hours, traveling more than 22,000 miles, moving over 154,000 carts, and saving workers millions of steps. Deployments span hospitals, laboratories, manufacturing facilities, and logistics hubs, with Mayo Clinic cited as a notable site. The Gen 2 platform is pitched as production proven, intended to operate without bespoke software for each customer.

From a practical standpoint, the return on investment rests on three levers: moving material without swelling headcount, freeing skilled workers for higher value tasks, and reducing integration friction. The Gen 2’s autonomy and manipulation features are designed to shrink the handoff chatter between mobile platforms and static automation, while self swapping batteries extend uptime between service events. In other words, the goal is to keep floors turning while technical staff focus on higher impact activities.

For the numbers minded, the field data translate into a credible throughput signal. If 28 Proxie robots ran for 13,000 hours and moved 154,000 carts, the fleet average comes to roughly 11.9 carts per robot hour. That implies an approximate average cycle time near five minutes per cart, assuming steady operation across shifts. This is a rough read, of course, since real tasks vary by payload, environment, and paths through busy rooms. Still, it points to a tangible productivity lift for operations that rely on cart transit and material transport.

Industry watchers want to see how Gen 2 behaves under heavier workloads and more diverse floor conditions. The two armed manipulation option broadens the set of tasks the robot can perform without human intervention, but it also introduces questions about maintenance, wear, and reliability in fast moving environments. And while the promise of a turnkey platform is appealing, deployments inevitably require IT alignment with warehouse management, enterprise systems, and data networks to harvest value without creating new bottlenecks.

Deployment data shows Proxie Gen 2 is gaining traction as a practical tool for accelerating material flow and reducing fatigue on the shop floor. If the trend holds, the platform could become a staple in facilities seeking measurable gains in throughput, reduced travel times, and smarter allocation of human labor to higher value work.