Novarc Launches NovAI Autonomy and Expands Welding Intelligence to ABB and Yaskawa Robots

Novarc Technologies today announced the launch of NovAI™ Autonomy, an advanced solution that brings machine vision and real-time adaptation to robotic welding. The company also revealed that its NovHub™ Enterprise Welding Intelligence platform is now being integrated with ABB and Yaskawa robots. The announcements come ahead of the Automate 2026 trade show, where Novarc will host live demonstrations of the new technology.

“Reindustrialization and reshoring can’t happen at scale without a step-change in fabrication capacity,” said Soroush Karimzadeh, CEO and co-founder of Novarc Technologies. “Shipbuilding, data centers, energy infrastructure and heavy equipment are all faced with the same challenges: an ominous shortage of skilled welders, too few robot programmers, and too much part variability for conventional automation to handle. We built NovAI to adapt and respond to these roadblocks.”

The system retrofits onto existing robotic cells, adding real-time vision, adaptive control, and welding intelligence to improve quality, consistency, and throughput while reducing manual rework.

Integration with ABB Robots

At Automate, Novarc will demonstrate NovAI Autonomy running on ABB’s IRC5 robot. The AI-powered solution automatically adjusts weld parameters for gaps, misalignments, and tacks, compensating for part variation upfront. The company says this approach increases ROI by minimizing costly rework and grinding.

“We look forward to partnering with Novarc to implement their AI-Powered Adaptive Welding on our extensive suite of ABB robots,” said Joshua Williamson, Global Product Manager for Joining Technologies and Positioners at ABB. “Novarc’s welding intelligence enables vision and adaptive welding to autonomously adjust weld parameters in real time, which translates into significant benefits to our customers.”

Novarc will also showcase NovHub on the ABB platform, a welding intelligence system that centralizes weld video, process parameters, part traceability, and production timing into a single dashboard for real-time visibility and faster decision-making.

Integration with Yaskawa Robots

Novarc will also demonstrate NovAI Autonomy on Yaskawa’s YRC1000 robot. The technology can evaluate root openings and gaps before the arc strikes, allowing the controller to optimize starting parameters and guarantee upfront weld quality.

The two companies recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate adoption of vision-enabled welding cells in both greenfield and retrofit applications.

“Yaskawa is dedicated to driving innovation and efficiency across heavy fabrication and industrial sectors,” said Doug Burnside, Executive Vice President of Yaskawa America, Inc. “Through this partnership, we are proud to deepen our engagement with Novarc to incorporate their Enterprise Welding Intelligence into our robotic platforms.”

Miller Copilot Builder with Blue iQ

In a separate partnership, Novarc collaborated with Miller Welding Automation to develop the Copilot Builder with Blue iQ, powered by NovAI. The system adapts to part-to-part variation, fit-up challenges, and tack weld consumption, enabling automation in environments where weld consistency is difficult to achieve.

“Fabricators have told us for years that their parts vary too much, skilled labor is too hard to find, and traditional welding automation just isn’t built for some of the work they do,” said Sam Harvey, Business Unit Director at Miller Welding Automation. “The system adapts to fabricators’ real-world fit-up challenges, simplifies programming, and gives them the confidence that welding automation will finally work in their environment.”

NovPlan Offline Programming Software

Visitors to Novarc’s booth at Automate will also see a live demonstration of NovPlan, the company’s offline robotic welding software. NovPlan reduces programming time by up to 90 percent by detecting weld joints and generating robot programs directly from 3D CAD models, eliminating the need for coding specialists.

Live Demonstrations at Automate 2026

Novarc will host live demonstrations of NovAI Autonomy and NovHub every 30 minutes in Booth #1475, alternating between ABB and Yaskawa cells. Automate 2026 takes place June 22–25 in Chicago, Illinois.

About Novarc Technologies

Novarc Technologies is an industrial Physical AI company reinventing welding automation for the global fabrication industry. Its platform combines real-time computer vision, adaptive control, welding intelligence, and over-the-air software updates to transform robotic welding systems into continuously improving Physical AI endpoints. For more information, visit www.novarc.ai.

The source for this article is https://www.roboticstomorrow.com/news/2026/06/22/novarc-launches-novai-autonomy-as-part-of-novai-suite-and-expands-integration-to-yaskawa-and-abb-robots/26758/.