NVIDIA is moving deeper into robot safety with the launch of Halos for Robotics, a full-stack safety system built for machines that sense, decide and act in the real world.
The company announced Halos for Robotics as a safety architecture for physical AI, bringing together AI compute, sensor connectivity, software, safety applications and inspection tools in one system. NVIDIA says the goal is to help developers build and deploy robots that can work around people in factories, warehouses, logistics operations and other industrial environments.
That may not sound as exciting as a new humanoid robot, but it may be just as important. The robot industry is racing to put machines into human spaces. Those robots will need to move near workers, equipment, forklifts, shelves, pallets and other robots. If they cannot do that safely, they will not scale.
Halos for Robotics builds on NVIDIA’s autonomous vehicle safety work and applies it to robotics and physical AI. NVIDIA says the system draws on more than 18,600 engineering years of autonomous vehicle safety development. The robotics version includes NVIDIA IGX Thor and Holoscan Sensor Bridge for AI compute and sensor connectivity, Halos OS for safety software, and the NVIDIA Halos AI Systems Inspection Lab to help companies prepare for third-party certification.
One of the most interesting pieces is the Halos Outside-In Safety Blueprint. Instead of asking a robot to rely only on its own onboard sensors, the system can use external cameras and AI agents to extend perception across a worksite. That means a robot could respond not only to what it sees from its own body, but also to what the surrounding environment sees.
That outside view could become a big deal in warehouses and factories. A robot working around blind corners, moving workers and shifting inventory may need more than its own sensors to make smart safety decisions. External perception gives the building itself a role in keeping robots out of trouble.
Agility is the first company named by NVIDIA as using Halos for Robotics. The humanoid robotics company is working with NVIDIA to integrate IGX Thor and Halos Core into its safety system for Digit, its humanoid robot designed for logistics, manufacturing and warehouse work. NVIDIA says Digit is used in industrial operations for customers including Amazon, GXO, Schaeffler and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada.
Agility will also participate in the Halos AI Systems Inspection Lab, which NVIDIA says is the first ANAB-accredited program for functional and AI safety for physical AI. The lab is meant to help companies evaluate safety-related software, AI components and cybersecurity before final third-party certification by groups such as TÜV Rheinland, UL Solutions, TÜV SÜD, exida, SGS and CertX.
NVIDIA is also building a broader ecosystem around Halos. Partners include software companies, embedded systems providers, sensor and chip companies, industrial application developers and certification bodies. FORT Robotics, Inventec, KION Group, Lyte AI and Neurealm are among the companies developing safety agents using the Outside-In Safety Blueprint.
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