IROS 2026 — exhibits and partner programme

The IROS 2026 exhibits and partner programme is the industry-facing side of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. The exhibition floor is open 28–30 September 2026, running in parallel with the technical conference (27 September–1 October). Where the main programme is the research record, the exhibition is where that research meets industry — and it is aimed squarely at exhibitors, sponsors, recruiters, investors and physical-AI companies who want to put their hardware, software and brand in front of the robotics community.

Who walks the floor

IROS draws more than 7,000 attendees, and the exhibitor data paints a clear picture of the audience. Around 82% come from universities and research institutions and 15% from business and industry, while roughly four in ten have more than a decade of experience in robotics. Critically for partners, about 72% of attendees play a role in purchasing for their organisation, and a third hold final purchasing authority — so the hall is a genuine buying audience rather than a passive crowd. Reported product interests track the field's centre of gravity: sensors and sensing systems (62%), software and simulation (57%), motion control (56%), and cameras, imaging and vision (52%), followed by controllers, grippers and soft-robotics components.

What the programme offers exhibitors

The exhibit floor brings together the full robotics supply chain alongside the labs and startups commercialising research:

• Robot-platform makers, sensor and actuator suppliers, and simulation and tooling vendors
• Startups and university spin-outs showing early commercial systems, including a dedicated start-up booth tier
• Live demonstrations, a welcome reception and farewell, and partner sessions that connect academia with industry
• Standard 10' x 10' booth packages plus a la carte partnership and branding opportunities throughout the venue
• Strong recruiting value — the late-September timing makes IROS an opportune place to source summer-2027 interns and senior robotics, AI and computer-vision talent

Application interest among attendees skews toward manufacturing, healthcare, logistics and agriculture — a useful map of where commercial robotics demand is concentrated, and a guide for exhibitors deciding how to pitch their technology.

Who should exhibit or visit

The partner programme is built for companies selling into robotics R&D — component and platform vendors, simulation and perception-software firms, and the well-funded humanoid and manipulation startups that have made physical AI one of 2026's defining investment themes. For investors and corporate-development teams, the floor is an efficient way to scan emerging hardware and meet founders in a single venue. For engineers and product leads, it is a chance to evaluate platforms and tooling hands-on rather than from a datasheet. And because IROS attracts heavy coverage from outlets such as IEEE Spectrum and MIT Technology Review — with research videos from the show often going viral well beyond the robotics audience — the exhibition is a credible stage for product and research announcements.

Why it matters in 2026

The exhibition is a useful gauge of how fast embodied AI is moving from paper to product. Robotics is being reshaped by the same foundation-model wave that transformed language and vision — vision-language-action models, learned manipulation policies, large-scale simulation and sim-to-real transfer — alongside a surge of investment in humanoids and general-purpose manipulation. On the IROS floor, those advances stop being abstractions and become hardware you can stand in front of, watch operate, and interrogate directly. Set in Pittsburgh, “Roboburgh,” the show deliberately connects the research community to America's manufacturing and automation industry, which is among the reasons it has become a magnet for both established suppliers and the newest physical-AI ventures. For a buyer or investor, an afternoon on the floor is one of the most efficient ways all year to compare competing robot platforms, grippers, sensors and simulation stacks side by side and to gauge which young companies are converting research into something that actually ships.

Booking a booth or partnership

Exhibit and partnership details, the floor plan, the booth application and the partnership prospectus are published on the official exhibitor site at iros.exhibitprospectus.com, with early-bird booth pricing available ahead of the April 2026 deadline and start-up packages for smaller teams. Exhibitor passes include conference registration access, a listing in the exhibit directory and mobile app, exhibit-hall WiFi, and reception entry, plus access to high-impact branding opportunities reserved for exhibitors. Companies planning a presence should reserve early, as prime floor positions at flagship robotics conferences fill well in advance.