Conditional approval has exempted the five platforms of Ati Robotics from being included in FCC Covered List; Sherpa Mecha is one of only two approved humanoid robots to date.
Madison Heights, Michigan, USA, November 6th / PRNewswire / -- Ati Robotics Today, it was announced that its Sherpa Mecha industrial humanoid robots, Sherpa 10K tugger, and Sherpa FlexFork automated forklifts have received conditional approval from the U.S. Department of War and are exempted from the regulations of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). As of October 30, 2026, Sherpa Mecha is one of only two approved humanoid robots to date and is also the only model designed for factory use.
FCC issued the approval (DA 26-1181) on October 30, 2026, using the company's official U.S. name ATI Motors. This approval covers five platforms: Sherpa Mecha, Sherpa 10K, Sherpa 3K, Sherpa FlexFork 1500, and Sherpa FlexFork 3000. All five platforms are still eligible to obtain the FCC device authorization required for distribution in the United States.
Approved coverage content
Sherpa Mecha is a dual-arm mobile operation robot that can navigate within factory workshops, retrieve material boxes, and transport parts within a single continuous workflow. The flagship product of Ati, Sherpa 10K, is capable of transporting up to 10,000 pounds of materials between production lines, loading/unloading points, and warehouses, while Sherpa FlexFork can autonomously transport pallets and carts. All three platforms are coordinated through the company's material scheduling software, Ati Flow.
Why it's important
Starting from July 28, 2026, advanced robotic equipment produced abroad has been included in Covered List, unless an exemption is obtained through national security review. As a result, American manufacturers and distributors are paying more attention to the production location of automated equipment, the ownership of the underlying software, and who provides support services. Ati Robotics develops its own autonomous and fleet management software systems. This approval also gives customers more confidence when purchasing their humanoid robots and AMR product lines.
“Ati Robotics has always prioritized building robots from scratch and maintains deep control over the components. Earlier this year, we began planning to manufacture these robots in the United States and secured a larger site in Michigan. The actions of FCC further confirm our belief that autonomous robots are strategic technologies, and companies must regard them as such strategic assets.”
– Ati Robotics Founder and CEO Saurabh Chandra
This year, before considering the payload or price, our American customers have been asking a common question: “Can this robot be approved for shipment and will it receive support in the long term?” For Mecha, Sherpa 10K, and FlexFork, this approval provides a clear answer. Our customers will continue to collaborate with Ati Robotics on automation needs – and with more confidence than ever before.
– Ati Robotics Vice President of Sales Siddharth Bhagra
Ati indicates that the task success rate of its robot product portfolio in daily production reaches 99%, with an average deployment time not exceeding four weeks. American customers can still receive full deployment support, services, and spare parts supply, all of which are provided by the company's headquarters located in Madison Heights, Michigan.
FCC Notifications can be viewed at docs.fcc.gov / public / attachments / DA-26-1181A1.pdf.
About Ati Robotics
Ati Robotics produces autonomous mobile robots suitable for factory environments, as well as Sherpa Mecha industrial humanoid robots, all coordinated by their Ati Flow software platform. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Madison Heights, Michigan. It has completed over 2 million autonomous tasks in more than 70 factories around the world. For more information, please visit www.atirobotics.ai.
