ABB Robotics and Nvidia Plan Physical AI Certificate Built Around Simulation

The programme pairs theory with hands-on work in simulation, using ABB's RobotStudio software and Nvidia's Omniverse platform, and is built on Nvidia AI technologies, ABB said in its announcement. It did not give a start date, course length, price or how people can enrol.

The pitch is aimed at a skills problem rather than a technology one. ABB released the programme alongside a white paper, written with contributions from Amazon Web Services, AsiaInfo, Deloitte and SKAI Intelligence, which found that 53% of companies are building AI fluency among staff but 84% have not redesigned jobs around AI capabilities. The paper argues that industrial physical AI will not scale through technology investment alone, and that universities, employers, technology companies and industry bodies need to operate as one connected system to train the workforce.

"Physical AI is reshaping the skills needed in industrial environments," said Marc Segura, President of ABB Robotics. Amit Goel, head of robotics and edge computing ecosystem at Nvidia, said learning in simulation "helps democratize robotics by giving more people the opportunity to design and test" robotic systems.

The course builds on a partnership the two companies announced in March, under which ABB is integrating Omniverse libraries into RobotStudio. The resulting product, RobotStudio HyperReality, is now available to 60,000 RobotStudio users worldwide, ABB said, and the company claims it closes the gap between simulated and real-world robot performance with 99% accuracy for industrial customers.

Simulation-first training is central to how robot makers and chip suppliers are trying to widen the market for AI-driven automation: engineers design and test robot cells virtually before committing to hardware on the factory floor. ABB has not said whether the certificate will be offered through universities, its own training centres or online, and those details are the next thing to watch as the programme moves out of development.