IFS, Boston Dynamics combine to power of robotics with Agentic AI to transform field operations

IFS Chief Product Officer Christian Pedersen

Boston Dynamics Director of Product Dr. Merry Frayne

IFS, the leading provider of Industrial AI software, and Boston Dynamics, the global leader in mobile robotics, recently announced a ground-breaking collaboration to revolutionize how asset-intensive organisations manage and optimise their field operations. 

Uniting Boston Dynamics’ autonomous inspection robots with the power of IFS.ai creates a fully agentic AI system that seamlessly connects sensing, predictive decision-making and action in the field. With labour and skills shortages impacting industrial customers, leading to service gaps and prolonged outages, there exists an urgent need for technology that can supplement field workers.

IFS and Boston Dynamics revealed the joint solution for the first time at Industrial X Unleashed in New York, on 13 November. 

The two companies showcased a powerful combination of physical AI and agentic AI that creates an end-to-end autonomous system to connect robots and enterprise data in high potential applications. Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots inspect industrial assets and sites, capturing critical operational data in real-time. Spot uses thermal cameras to detect overheating, can listen to air or gas leaks, read analogue gauges for pressure and flow, check indicator lights, identify hazards like spills, or detect voltage anomalies. This information feeds directly into IFS.ai where agentic AI analyzes the data, makes intelligent decisions, and triggers appropriate actions – creating a seamless loop from sensing to execution.

The collaboration uniquely focuses on serving industries where field operations are critical, including manufacturing, energy, utilities, mining, and other asset-intensive sectors.  With field workers comprising part of the 70% of the world’s workforce that do not work behind a desk, IFS and Boston Dynamics are unlocking value in areas that have remained underserved by generic AI applications. 

Together, IFS and Boston Dynamics are targeting measurable improvements across three critical operational metrics:

1. Safety: Autonomous inspections reduce human exposure to hazardous environments while increasing inspection frequency and thoroughness

2. Efficiency: Intelligent automation enables faster decision-making and response times, optimizing resource allocation

3. Uptime: Predictive insights and automated actions help prevent failures before they occur, maximizing asset availability

IFS Chief Product Officer Christian Pedersen said: “Asset-intensive organizations face unrelenting pressure to improve operational performance. Together with Boston Dynamics, we’re delivering a truly autonomous system that connects the physical and digital worlds for the first time. IFS.ai and IFS Loops turn robot observations into enterprise action, from preventative maintenance scheduling to predictive failure analysis and automated anomaly detection. Data flows from the field into enterprise systems, decisions are made autonomously, and actions are executed back in the field, all within a single integrated platform.”

Boston Dynamics Director of Product Dr. Merry Frayne said: “This collaboration represents the future of industrial operations. Our robots excel at navigating complex environments and gathering critical data. Combined with IFS’s agentic decision-making capabilities, we’re enabling organizations to achieve levels of operational excellence and safety that simply weren’t possible before.”