New QNX Research Finds Software is the Biggest Bottleneck to Robotics Innovation as Physical AI Accelerates

QNX, a division of BlackBerry (NYSE:BB), released the global “Inside the Robot: Architecture Benchmark Report” based on 1,000 robotics developers.

Rhea-AI Summary

QNX, a division of BlackBerry (NYSE:BB), released the global “Inside the Robot: Architecture Benchmark Report” based on 1,000 robotics developers.

Key findings include software architecture as the top performance bottleneck (27% vs 16% hardware), 89% citing Physical AI as critical, 95% needing deterministic real time, and 91% still using general‑purpose OSs for real‑time or safety‑critical workloads.

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Market Context

This announcement centers on QNX’s Inside the Robot benchmark report, based on a survey of 1,000 rob...

Analysis

This announcement centers on QNX’s Inside the Robot benchmark report, based on a survey of 1,000 robotics developers. It highlights that 89% view Physical AI as critical, while 95% require deterministic real-time behavior and 66% report certification delays. In BlackBerry’s recent history, QNX has repeatedly emphasized safety-critical AI platforms and partnerships. Investors may watch how this data-driven positioning supports QNX’s role in emerging robotics and Physical AI architectures.

Key Figures

Survey sample size: 1,000 developers Physical AI importance: 89% Real-time importance: 95% +5 more

Survey sample size

1,000 developers

Global robotics developer survey for Inside the Robot report

Physical AI importance

89%

Developers saying Physical AI is critical to future plans

Real-time importance

95%

Developers saying deterministic, real-time behaviour is essential

Use of GPOS

91%

Respondents running real-time or safety-critical workloads on GPOS

Open to OS change

86%

GPOS users open to changing their operating system

Deployed alongside humans

83%

Respondents with systems already deployed alongside humans

Certification delays

66%

Respondents reporting project delays due to certification

High confidence level

29%

Respondents very confident in making safe, predictable decisions

Previous AI Reports

5 past events · Latest: May 06

Same Type 5 events

1. May 06

   AI summit showcase

   24h Move

   +7.0%

   QNX demos and launches Physical AI-focused report at Robotics Summit & Expo.

2. Apr 20

   AI partnership expansion

   24h Move

   +13.2%

   QNX deepens collaboration with NVIDIA on safety-critical edge AI platform.

3. Mar 10

   AI platform launch

   24h Move

   -0.9%

   General Availability of QNX Hypervisor 8.0 for Safety targeting Physical AI systems.

4. Feb 17

   AI conference showcase

   24h Move

   -1.2%

   QNX to showcase robotics and Physical AI software at Embedded World 2026.

5. Mar 12

   AI safety platform

   24h Move

   +0.0%

   Launch of Functional Safety platform consolidating safety and AI workloads in robotics.

24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.

Key Terms

physical ai, general-purpose operating systems (gpos), deterministic, real-time behaviour, cybersecurity (ie: iso/sae 21434), +2 more

6 terms

physical ai technical

"Nearly nine in ten robotics developers (89%) say Physical AI is critical to their future plans."

Physical AI combines artificial intelligence with physical devices or environments, enabling machines to interact with and adapt to the real world in a human-like way. It matters to investors because it can lead to smarter robots, autonomous vehicles, or advanced sensors that improve efficiency and open new markets, potentially creating significant business opportunities and competitive advantages.

general-purpose operating systems (gpos) technical

"91% still rely on general-purpose operating systems (GPOS) to run real-time or safety-critical workloads."

General-purpose operating systems (GPOs) are the core software that runs computers and servers, managing hardware, launching applications and handling tasks much like a building’s infrastructure lets different tenants use shared utilities. Investors care because GPOs create the platform on which many products and services depend: their market adoption, update and security cycles, licensing terms, and compatibility can drive or erode revenue for software makers, cloud providers and hardware vendors, and affect overall industry risk and growth.

deterministic, real-time behaviour technical

"Deterministic, real-time behaviour is essential for 95% of robotics developers."

Deterministic, real-time behaviour describes a system that consistently produces the same output within a guaranteed, very short time window when given the same input. Think of it like a traffic light that always changes on schedule: investors care because trading, risk controls and automated operations depend on predictable, immediate responses to market events to avoid missed trades, unexpected losses or regulatory breaches.

cybersecurity (ie: iso/sae 21434) regulatory

"Cybersecurity (ie: ISO/SAE 21434) and functional safety standards (ie: ISO 10218) are among the most challenging areas to comply with, cited by 51% and 49% of respondents respectively."

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting electronic systems, software and data from unauthorized access, manipulation or disruption; in the automotive context, ISO/SAE 21434 is a standardized framework that guides how manufacturers identify and reduce cyber risks throughout a vehicle’s design and lifecycle. Investors care because strong cybersecurity lowers the chance of costly recalls, legal liability, downtime or reputational damage, and can be a competitive advantage that preserves revenue and valuation — like a lock and alarm protecting a valuable asset.

iso/sae 21434 regulatory

"Cybersecurity (ie: ISO/SAE 21434) and functional safety standards (ie: ISO 10218) are among the most challenging areas to comply with, cited by 51% and 49% of respondents respectively."

ISO/SAE 21434 is an international technical standard that specifies how automakers and suppliers must address cybersecurity across a vehicle’s entire life cycle—design, development, production, operation, maintenance and decommissioning. For investors it signals whether a company follows recognized practices to reduce hacking risk, avoid regulatory penalties and limit costly recalls or liability; think of it as a building code for a car’s digital systems that affects product safety, compliance costs and market access.

iso 10218 regulatory

"Cybersecurity (ie: ISO/SAE 21434) and functional safety standards (ie: ISO 10218) are among the most challenging areas to comply with, cited by 51% and 49% of respondents respectively."

ISO 10218 is an international safety standard that sets design, testing and operational rules for industrial robots and the systems that use them, covering both individual robot units and their integration into workplaces. For investors, compliance is like meeting a building code or fitting seat belts: it reduces legal and safety risks, broadens market access, and can lower insurance and liability costs, all of which influence product adoption and long‑term value.

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Global study of 1,000 robotics developers reveals growing focus on software foundations to address performance, security, and scalability challenges

Key Findings from the "Inside the Robot: Architecture Benchmark Report":

• Nearly nine in ten robotics developers (89%) say Physical AI is critical to their future plans.

• Deterministic, real-time behaviour is essential for 95% of robotics developers.

• Despite rising safety and security demands, 91% still rely on general-purpose operating systems (GPOS) to run real-time or safety-critical workloads.

• Highlighting concerns about suitability, 86% of respondents using a GPOS say they are open to changing their OS.

BOSTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / May 27, 2026 / QNX, a division of BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB) today released a new research study, the Inside the Robot: Architecture Benchmark Report, examining how robotics development is changing as systems become more software‑driven, AI‑enabled, and increasingly deployed alongside humans at work and in daily life. Based on a survey of 1,000 developers from around the world, the research reveals the most significant inhibitors to progress, the gap between system ambitions and current capabilities, and developers' views on the industry's future. A new episode of QNX's Code the Future podcast featuring Omdia Chief Analyst Lian Jye Su explores the themes and results in more detail.

Hardware Advances Are No Longer the Bottleneck; Software Now Leads
With almost one in three developers (27%), naming software architecture and integration as their biggest performance bottleneck, compared with just 16% who point to hardware, the research shows that future progress hinges less on new hardware and more on building systems that are predictable, secure, and capable of handling mixed levels of criticality. As robots move more widely from controlled environments into dynamic, real‑world settings such as city streets and factory floors, developers are recognizing that software foundations are the deciding factor as to whether innovations succeed or stall.

Looking ahead, 85% of developers also expect software to play an even greater role in robotics over the next three to five years with teams anticipating their biggest investments will be in AI-driven decision making and cybersecurity (both at 51%), followed by operating systems and real-time control software (37%), further reflecting how software foundations are becoming strategic assets as robotics systems grow more complex, interconnected, and distributed.

Increasing Deployment in Human Environments Drives Higher Demands
Robotics teams are already feeling the impact. More than four in five respondents (83%) say their systems are now deployed alongside humans. Among those not yet deployed alongside humans today, two‑thirds (67%) expect they will be within three to five years. This expanding presence in less controlled environments, from surgical suites to busy shop floors is driving higher expectations around reliability, safety, and predictable behavior, with nearly all respondents (95%) saying deterministic, real‑time execution is important to the systems they develop.

Surprisingly, despite this near‑universal requirement, most development teams continue to rely on software not designed for real‑time or safety‑critical use with the research revealing that 91% of respondents run these workloads, at least in part, on general‑purpose operating systems (GPOS), even though safety‑certified commercial solutions are rated as the best fit for their needs. As a result, 86% of these GPOS users say they are open to changing their OS; a contrast that encapsulates the growing tension between flexibility and the need for predictable, guaranteed behaviour as robotics deployments scale.

Certification Delays and Security Demands Add New Pressures
Regulatory and compliance demands further intensify these challenges. Two‑thirds of respondents (66%) report project delays due to certification processes, rising to around 70% in the UK and Germany. In contrast, only 56% report delays in China, where regulatory requirements are far less stringent. These delays directly affect development costs, delivery timelines, and commercial risk. Cybersecurity (ie: ISO/SAE 21434) and functional safety standards (ie: ISO 10218) are among the most challenging areas to comply with, cited by 51% and 49% of respondents respectively.

High Ambition Meets Uneven Readiness for Physical AI
Despite these pressures, ambition and optimism across the industry remain high. Physical AI is firmly on the roadmap, with 89% of respondents saying AI‑enabled robots that can perceive, reason, and act autonomously in the physical world will be critical to their organisation's strategy over the next three to five years, with China leading the pack globally. Confidence in the long‑term potential of Physical AI is strong, but readiness remains uneven. Only 29% of respondents feel "very confident" in their ability to make safe, predictable decisions in real‑world environments.

"Robotics teams are clearly pushing toward more intelligent, autonomous systems, but the data shows they are also running up against the very real limits of architectures that were never designed for this level of complexity or accountability," said Jim Hirsch, Global VP of Sales, General Embedded Markets at QNX. "Developers consistently cite four core challenges: integration complexity, certification delays, functional safety risks in human‑machine interaction, and ensuring predictable behavior when it matters most. The good news is that these are all solvable problems and by focusing on stronger software foundations, developers can set the stage for faster innovation and a new generation of safe, reliable, and highly autonomous robots."

QNX provides high-performance foundational software that helps simplify the most complex challenges in industries such as robotics, automotive, medical devices, industrial controls, commercial vehicles, rail, and aerospace and defense. QNX empowers organizations to unlock new possibilities in areas like high-performance computing at the edge, standards-based virtualization technologies, and cloud enablement. Trusted in the world's most critical systems, QNX continues to lead across a range of sectors, including robotics and healthcare, where its technology is deployed by nine of the top ten medical device manufacturers.

Additional sources:

• Download a copy of the Inside the Robot: Architecture Benchmark Report to learn more.

• Read more about the key findings from the report, and how leaders can take action now on the QNX blog.

• Listen to the latest Code the Future podcast episode with Omdia's Lian Jye Su to explore the themes and wider industry impact.

For more information on QNX, visit QNX.software and follow @QNX News.

ENDS

Methodology: This online survey of 1000 professionals software developers/engineers working in robotics across selected sectors (or robotics developers if you prefer) was commissioned by QNX and conducted by market research company OnePoll, in accordance with the Market Research Society's code of conduct. Data was collected between [25/02/2026] and [04/03/2026]. All participants are double-opted in to take part in research and are paid an amount depending on the length and complexity of the survey. This survey was overseen and edited by the OnePoll research team. OnePoll are MRS Company Partners, corporate membership of ESOMAR and Members of the British Polling Council.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB) provides enterprises and governments the intelligent software and services that power the world around us. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company's high-performance foundational software enables major automakers and industrial giants alike to unlock transformative applications, drive new revenue streams and launch innovative business models, all without sacrificing safety, security, and reliability. With a deep heritage in Secure Communications, BlackBerry delivers operational resiliency with a comprehensive, highly secure, and extensively certified portfolio for mobile fortification, mission-critical communications, and critical events management.

About QNX
QNX, a division of BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB), provides the trusted foundation that software-defined and physical AI systems depend on to operate safely and predictably in the real world. For nearly half a century, QNX has powered safety-critical applications where failure is not an option. The business leads the way in delivering safe and secure operating systems, hypervisors, middleware, solutions, and development tools, along with the support and services delivered by trusted embedded software experts. Today, QNX technology underpins hundreds of millions of vehicles on the road and a wide range of mission-critical systems across industrial controls, robotics, medical devices, commercial transportation, rail, and aerospace and defense. QNX is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. Learn more at qnx.software.

^©2026 BlackBerry Limited. Trademarks, including but not limited to BLACKBERRY and EMBLEM Design, QNX and the QNX logo design are the trademarks or registered trademarks of BlackBerry Limited, and the exclusive rights to such trademarks are expressly reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. BlackBerry is not responsible for any third-party products or services.

Media Contacts:

BlackBerry Media Relations
+1 (519) 597-7273
mediarelations@BlackBerry.com

SOURCE: QNX

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

FAQ

AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

What is the QNX "Inside the Robot" Architecture Benchmark Report released in May 2026?

The QNX “Inside the Robot: Architecture Benchmark Report” is a global study of 1,000 robotics developers. According to QNX, it examines software architecture, Physical AI readiness, safety, security, and certification pressures as robots move into real‑world, human environments.

What did the QNX report reveal about Physical AI adoption for robotics developers (NYSE:BB)?

The report indicates Physical AI is central to robotics strategies, with 89% calling it critical. According to QNX, developers see AI‑enabled robots that perceive, reason, and act autonomously as key over the next three to five years, although only 29% feel very confident about safe, predictable decisions.

Why does QNX say software is now the main bottleneck in robotics innovation?

Software architecture and integration are cited as the biggest performance bottleneck by 27% of developers, versus 16% for hardware. According to QNX, progress depends increasingly on predictable, secure software foundations that can handle mixed‑criticality workloads in complex, real‑world human environments.

How are robotics developers using general-purpose operating systems according to the QNX 2026 survey?

Despite safety and real‑time needs, 91% of surveyed developers run real‑time or safety‑critical workloads on general‑purpose operating systems. According to QNX, 86% of these users are open to changing OS, reflecting tension between flexibility and guaranteed, deterministic behavior in scaling robotics.

What certification and regulatory challenges did QNX highlight for robotics teams?

Two‑thirds of respondents report project delays from certification, rising to about 70% in the UK and Germany. According to QNX, cybersecurity standard ISO/SAE 21434 and functional safety standard ISO 10218 are among the most challenging compliance areas, affecting costs, timelines, and commercial risk.

How widely are robots deployed alongside humans in the QNX 2026 robotics study?

The study found 83% of respondents already deploy systems alongside humans, with many more expecting to do so. According to QNX, this shift into workplaces, surgical suites, and shop floors drives higher expectations for reliability, safety, and deterministic real‑time execution in robotics software.