PAL Robotics Unveils ARI Upgrades at CES 2026

CES Spotlight Debut

PAL Robotics steals the show at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, showcasing upgraded versions of its flagship humanoid robot ARI with enhanced AI perception and navigation packs. This timely reveal builds on ARI's established role in human-robot interaction since its 2019 launch, positioning it for broader deployment in hospitals, retail, and research labs amid rising demand for collaborative machines. Attendees witnessed live demos of ARI's refined behaviors, signaling Barcelona-based PAL's push to dominate social robotics amid global events highlighting humanoid advancements.

Interaction Mastery

ARI redefines engagement through seamless multimodal perception, fusing face recognition, 3D skeleton tracking, and voice activity for natural conversations. Its expressive head movements and customizable touchscreen deliver personalized responses, like guiding shoppers or entertaining guests with dances and gestures. Unlike rigid assistants, ARI adapts proxemics based on gaze and body language, fostering trust in crowded settings and enabling developers to script behaviors via intuitive SDK tools.

Sensing Revolution

Engineers at PAL integrated premium upgrades including RGB-D head cameras, thermal imaging, and optional LiDAR for precise environmental awareness. Leveraging ROS Noetic and Orocos, ARI achieves whole-body Cartesian control, allowing fluid arm gestures during interactions. These advances stem from iterative prototypes, simplifying construction while boosting realtime people detection, setting ARI apart from earlier models like REEM by emphasizing reliability in dynamic human spaces.

Deployment Wins

Researchers deploy ARI in patient assistance scenarios, where it monitors vitals and offers companionship, or as retail guides navigating stores to answer queries. Info kiosks benefit from its multilingual speech, while AI labs test perception algorithms on its sensor-rich frame. These applications highlight ARI's evolution from entertainment to essential aide, with recent upgrades enabling autonomous mapping and obstacle avoidance for unsupervised operations.

Skill Empowerment Core

Standing 165 cm tall at 60 kg, ARI's wheeled base hits 5.4 km/h, powering extended interaction sessions backed by a 3-5 year battery life. Its sensor suite, from four-microphone arrays and stereo RGBD cameras to optional LiDAR and force/torque detectors, enables empathetic responses like detecting distress via gaze or collision avoidance during approaches. Visual SLAM navigation supports collaborative modes with emergency stops, while ROS-based software lets developers craft human-centric skills such as package handling or expressive storytelling.

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