NVIDIA Releases Halos, a Full-Stack Safety System for Robotics

NVIDIA today launched NVIDIA Halos for Robotics, a comprehensive safety system for robots and physical AI that integrates AI compute and safety functions into a single architecture. The system is designed to help developers and system builders scale autonomous robots in dynamic environments alongside human workers.

The company said autonomous robots will rely on AI foundation models, accelerated computing, and distributed sensors to operate safely near people. Halos provides a standardized safety architecture connecting AI compute, system software, sensor data, safety applications, and inspection capabilities.

“Physical AI is transforming how factories, warehouses, and logistics operations work, and robotics teams need a unified safety architecture to scale autonomous systems into these environments,” said Deepu Talla, vice president of robotics and edge AI at NVIDIA. “With NVIDIA Halos for Robotics, developers and system builders can harness NVIDIA’s proven autonomous vehicle safety foundation to develop safer robots faster and bring them into industrial operations alongside workers with greater confidence.”

Bringing Automotive-Grade Safety to Robotics

NVIDIA developed Halos by drawing on more than 18,600 engineering years of autonomous vehicle safety development. The system provides a common safety architecture for building, validating, and deploying physical AI systems across multiple layers.

The hardware layer includes the NVIDIA IGX Thor platform and the NVIDIA Holoscan Sensor Bridge, delivering industrial-grade AI compute with built-in safety and sensor connectivity for real-time workloads. On the software side, NVIDIA Halos OS provides a stack that includes Halos Core for safety-related operating functions and safety applications built using the open-source NVIDIA Halos Outside-In Safety Blueprint. This blueprint extends robot perception with external cameras and AI agents to dynamically control robot behavior in industrial settings.

NVIDIA also opened the NVIDIA Halos AI Systems Inspection Lab, an ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB)-accredited program for physical AI functional and AI safety. The lab helps partners prepare Halos integrations for third-party certification by leading bodies such as TÜV Rheinland, UL Solutions, TÜV SÜD, exida, SGS, and CertX.

Building an Ecosystem for Scalable Safety

The NVIDIA Halos for Robotics ecosystem includes partners spanning software, systems, sensors, silicon, industrial applications, and certification bodies. Software partners include Acontis, Amazon FreeRTOS, and QNX for real-time operating environments and functional safety. Embedded system builders Advantech and NexCobot deliver safety-designed IGX-based systems. Sensor and silicon contributors include Infineon, NXP, SICK, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments.

Industrial application partners such as FORT Robotics, Inventec, KION Group, and Neurealm are developing functional safety agents using the NVIDIA Halos Outside-In Safety Blueprint. Certification bodies are inspecting NVIDIA IGX Thor, Halos OS, and Holoscan Sensor Bridge for functional safety certification readiness, building on TÜV SÜD’s prior inspection of the Thor SoC and certification of Halos Core for ISO 26262.

The inspection lab includes more than 40 companies across manufacturers, certification bodies, and safety vendors. TÜV Rheinland, TÜV SÜD, UL Solutions, exida, SGS, and CertX all recognize the lab as part of their certification processes.

Humanoid Robot Digit Gets Halos Integration

Humanoid robot maker Agility is teaming with NVIDIA to integrate NVIDIA IGX Thor and Halos Core into its proprietary safe human detection system for the Digit humanoid. Digit is designed for industrial work in logistics, manufacturing, and warehouse operations, where safety must be engineered into every layer of the stack.

For Digit, IGX Thor provides industrial-grade AI compute with built-in safety capabilities, while Halos Core supports the software layer for safety-related operating functions. Agility will also participate in the NVIDIA Halos AI Systems Inspection Lab to help ensure Digit’s safety-related software, AI components, and cybersecurity protections meet standards such as IEC 61508, ISO 13849, and ISO/IEC TR 5469 before final third-party certification.

“For humanoids to deliver value at scale, safety has to be built into the robot and validated across the entire system,” said Peggy Johnson, CEO of Agility. “Partnering with NVIDIA to implement and optimize the Halos for Robotics system extends our leadership in responsible automation, which is a non-negotiable requirement for bringing humanoids safely into industrial workflows. This collaboration unlocks true human-robot teamwork, driving the long-term returns that will power next-generation manufacturing and logistics operations.”

NVIDIA Halos Core for NVIDIA IGX is available in early access for registered developers in Linux and Linux plus QNX configurations. The open-source NVIDIA Halos Outside-In Safety Blueprint, part of the Halos Applications layer, is now available in early access on GitHub.

The source for this article is https://www.therobotreport.com/nvidia-releases-halos-a-full-stack-safety-system-for-robotics/.