Ati Robotics robots cleared for continued U.S. sale after security review
Ati Robotics said five of its robotic platforms have received conditional approval that exempts them from the Federal Communications Commission Covered List. The clearance includes Sherpa Mecha, which the company says is one of only two humanoid robots cleared as of October 30, 2026.
- Five Ati Robotics platforms received conditional approval after a national security review.
- Sherpa Mecha is one of only two humanoid robots cleared as of October 30, 2026.
- The approval exempts the platforms from the FCC Covered List.
- All five platforms remain eligible for FCC equipment authorization in the United States.
- Ati Robotics says U.S. customers retain access to support, service and spare parts.
Approval covers five platforms
The U.S. Department of War granted conditional approval for Ati Robotics' Sherpa Mecha industrial humanoid, Sherpa 10K tugger and Sherpa FlexFork autonomous forklifts. The FCC published the approval on October 30, 2026, under the company's U.S. legal name, ATI Motors, Inc., in notice DA 26-1181.
The approval covers five platforms: Sherpa Mecha, Sherpa 10K, Sherpa 3K, Sherpa FlexFork 1500 and Sherpa FlexFork 3000. According to Ati Robotics, all five remain eligible for the FCC equipment authorization required for distribution in the United States.
Robots target factory material handling
Sherpa Mecha is a dual-arm mobile manipulator designed to navigate factory floors, retrieve bins and handle parts in a continuous workflow. Ati Robotics describes it as one of only two humanoid robots cleared as of October 30, 2026, and the only one built for factory work.
The Sherpa 10K moves up to 10,000 lb of material between production lines, docks and warehouses. Sherpa FlexFork transports pallets and carts autonomously. Ati Flow, the company's material orchestration software, coordinates all three platforms.
Why the clearance matters to U.S. buyers
Ati Robotics said foreign-produced advanced robotic devices have been placed on the Covered List since July 28, 2026, unless they are cleared through a national security review. The company said this has led U.S. manufacturers and distributors to scrutinize where automation is built, who owns the underlying software and who supports it.
Ati develops its own autonomous and fleet-management software systems. Founder and CEO Saurabh Chandra said the company had already been planning to build the robots in the United States and had taken a larger site in Michigan earlier in the year. “The FCC action simply reinforces our belief that autonomous robots are strategic technology and must be treated as such by enterprises,” Chandra said.
Vice President of Sales Siddharth Bhagra said U.S. customers had been asking whether the robots would be cleared to ship and serviced long term. The approval, he said, provides that clarity for Mecha, Sherpa 10K and FlexFork.
Support and deployment remain available
Ati Robotics said U.S. customers retain access to deployment support, service and spare parts through its headquarters in Madison Heights, Michigan. The company also said its robotic portfolio maintains a 99% mission success rate in daily production, with an average deployment time of four weeks or less.
Founded in 2017, Ati Robotics said it has completed more than 2 million autonomous missions across 70+ factories worldwide. The conditional approval gives its five listed platforms continued eligibility for U.S. distribution, while providing customers with the regulatory status the company says they have been seeking before purchasing factory automation.
