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Robotics, most used

What is the most used robot in the world?

No single verified answer

On DEPLOY's record, no single robot carries a verified count large enough to crown one as the world's most used. The robots usually given that title are industrial arms, and DEPLOY tracks 90 arm and cobot models from all four makers the field calls the global leaders: FANUC, ABB, KUKA, and Yaskawa. But it holds no count of how many of each are in service. The largest robot fleet DEPLOY does hold a figure for is Locus Robotics, at 6,000 warehouse robots, a company claim from July 2026.

✓ Last verified Jul 8, 202624 sources

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Verified changes only. We check the record and link every source. No marketing.

The honest answer depends on what you count, and DEPLOY will not invent a number it does not hold. By the common understanding of the field, the most used robots in the world are the industrial arms that weld, paint, and move parts on factory floors, and DEPLOY tracks that class in depth: 90 industrial arm and cobot models, including every one of the four makers usually called the global leaders, FANUC, ABB, KUKA, and Yaskawa. What DEPLOY does not hold is a verified installed-base count for any single arm, so it cannot rank them by units from its own record and does not pretend to.

Where DEPLOY does hold fleet-size figures is a newer class of robot: warehouse movers, robotaxis, sidewalk delivery bots, autonomous trucks, and humanoids. Among those, the largest fleet on record is Locus Robotics, with a claimed 6,000 warehouse robots as of July 2026, ahead of Waymo's robotaxi fleet and the sidewalk delivery fleets of Serve and Starship.

Both views are below: the fleet figures DEPLOY can rank, and the industrial arms it tracks but cannot yet count.

Largest fleet on record

6,000

Locus Robotics, claimed

Models with a fleet figure

10

dated and sourced

Industrial arm models tracked

90

47 at commercial maturity

The largest robot fleets DEPLOY holds a figure for

Every model on DEPLOY’s record that carries a reported in-field fleet size, ranked by that figure. Reported counts are company or press figures; the verified column is the subset DEPLOY has independently corroborated. This is not the world’s robot count: it is the newer, trackable fleets, not the factory arms below.

Robot fleets on DEPLOY’s record, by reported units in the field
RobotTypeReported fleetDEPLOY verifiedAs ofSources
LocusBot

Locus Robotics

Warehouse robot6,000claimednot independently verifiedJul 8, 2026
Locus Robotics, 5B+ units picked6 Billion Picks. Fastest Yet.Locus Robotics+1
Waymo Driver (6th gen)

Waymo

Robotaxi3,500claimed1,500verifiedJul 8, 2026
1,500 vehicles across San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and AustinWaymo says it will add 2,000 more robotaxis into 2026Waymo has said it plans on adding only 2,000 more vehicles in 2026, for a total fleet size of 3,500+1
Serve Gen 3

Serve Robotics

Sidewalk delivery2,000claimed812verifiedJul 8, 2026
Serve Robotics deploys 2,000 robots, creating the largest U.S. sidewalk fleetbuilding 2,000 autonomous delivery robots

The industrial arms: tracked in depth, not counted by unit

The robots most people mean by “most used” are the industrial arms on factory floors. DEPLOY catalogues 90 industrial arm and cobot models (47 at commercial or production maturity), including every one of the four makers the field calls the global leaders. What DEPLOY does not hold is a verified installed-base count for any single arm, so it does not rank them by units. Where a fleet claim appears in the record it is attributed and dated, never stated as fact.

The four global leaders in industrial robotics on DEPLOY’s record
MakerHeadquartersArm models trackedInstalled base on DEPLOY
FANUC

FANUC M-20iD, FANUC R-2000iC

Oshino, Yamanashi, Japan2not on record
ABB

ABB IRB 6700

Zurich, Switzerland1not on record
KUKA

KUKA KR QUANTEC, KR AGILUS

Augsburg, Germany2not on record
Yaskawa

Yaskawa MOTOMAN GP180

Kitakyushu, Japan1not on record
How we know this

Two evidence bases sit under this answer. The fleet figures come from the Model records that carry a reported in-field count, each dated and linked to its source; the reported number is a company or press figure and the verified number is the subset DEPLOY has independently corroborated. The industrial-arm coverage comes from the model and company records DEPLOY holds for that class.

Locus Robotics, 5B+ units picked6 Billion Picks. Fastest Yet.Locus RoboticsLocus Robotics Surpasses 5 Billion Pick Milestone1,500 vehicles across San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and AustinWaymo says it will add 2,000 more robotaxis into 2026Waymo has said it plans on adding only 2,000 more vehicles in 2026, for a total fleet size of 3,500Waymo runs 577 robotaxis in TexasServe Robotics deploys 2,000 robots, creating the largest U.S. sidewalk fleetbuilding 2,000 autonomous delivery robotspassed 10 million deliveriesexpand its fleetTesla 'Robotaxi' Fleet Jumps to Over 1,000 Registered VehiclesTesla expanded its unsupervised robotaxi service to MiamiTesla has not disclosed how many Optimus units exist but acknowledged only hundreds were built in 2025Tesla Optimus has 1,000+ units deployed, but exclusively inside Tesla's own factoriesa much larger Gen 3 production line is already planned for 2026Aurora says its fleet is 30 trucks today (with 10 fully driverless)By the end of 2026, Aurora expects over 200 driverless trucks on public highways250,000+ driverless miles with zero Aurora Driver-attributed collisionsZoox has a fleet of around 100, a company spokesperson saidAtlas' initial contract covers 100 trucks, which Burnette said Kodiak plans to fulfill in 2026Kodiak Expands Driverless Truck Fleet~75 units deployed, one high-duty site, four commercial agreements

Every fleet figure is attributed to who reported it and dated to when. DEPLOY holds no verified installed-base count for the industrial arms that dominate any global tally, so it reports the class it tracks rather than a unit ranking it cannot source. The moment a maker's count lands on the record, this page updates.

Common questions

What is the most common type of robot in the world?
By the field's own reckoning it is the industrial robot arm, the machine that welds, paints, and moves parts on factory floors. DEPLOY tracks that class in depth, with 90 industrial arm and cobot models including all four makers usually called the global leaders, FANUC, ABB, KUKA, and Yaskawa. DEPLOY does not hold a verified installed-base count for any single arm, so it reports the class it tracks rather than inventing a ranking of units.
Which robot has the largest fleet on DEPLOY's record?
Locus Robotics has the largest robot fleet DEPLOY holds a figure for, a claimed 6,000 warehouse robots as of July 2026. That is a company-reported figure, and DEPLOY has not independently verified the full count. It sits ahead of Waymo's robotaxi fleet and the sidewalk delivery fleets of Serve Robotics and Starship Technologies. The full leaderboard on this page shows every model DEPLOY holds a fleet figure for, each dated and sourced.
Are FANUC, ABB, KUKA, and Yaskawa the biggest robot makers?
They are the four makers the robotics field most often calls the global leaders in industrial robotics, and DEPLOY tracks all four along with their arms. What DEPLOY holds is the models and the makers, not a verified count of how many units each has installed worldwide, so it does not rank them by installed base from its own record. Where a claim about a maker's fleet is on the record, DEPLOY attributes it and dates it rather than stating it as fact.
How many robots are there in the world?
DEPLOY does not hold a world total, and does not estimate one. It maintains a verified registry of specific robot models, their makers, and, for a subset of newer robots, a dated and sourced fleet figure. For industrial arms, the class that dominates any global count, DEPLOY tracks the models and makers but not a unit total, so it reports what it verifies rather than a number it cannot source.
Is the most used robot a humanoid like Optimus?
No. Humanoids are among the newest and least deployed robots, not the most used. On DEPLOY's record Tesla Optimus carries a claimed fleet of about 1,000 units as of July 2026, well behind warehouse and delivery fleets and far behind the industrial arms that make up the bulk of the world's working robots. The most used robots remain the factory arms, which DEPLOY tracks as a class.

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