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Industry report · Robot field service in North America

2026 Robot Makers Entering North America: Field Service and After-Sales Report (Summary)

· By KeepRobots · Data as of 2026-10-12 · English summary of the Chinese report

About this report: This is the English summary of an industry report written by KeepRobots, a robot field-service company in Vancouver, Canada. It looks at the "last mile" for robot makers entering the United States and Canada: on-site deployment, after-sales repair and spare parts. It focuses on robot companies from China, which are the largest group of new entrants. Data is current to 12 October 2026 and comes only from public sources; every figure is footnoted. Company figures are marked "company-reported"; KeepRobots' own cost model is marked "illustrative estimate". The full report is in Chinese, and you can also download it as a PDF.

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1. Five key findings

1. Robot demand in North America is recovering, and service robots are moving from pilots into daily operations. The US installed 38,400 industrial robots in 2025, up 12%, and overtook Japan as the world's second-largest market[1]. Global sales of professional service robots reached almost 250,000 units in 2025 (+24%), led by transport and logistics, hospitality and professional cleaning[2][3]. For transport and logistics robots, the IFR says robots-as-a-service (RaaS) is already the dominant business model in the US[2]. Under RaaS, the vendor is on the hook for uptime.

2. Robot makers from China already have an installed base in North America and are moving from trade-show debuts to local operations. According to media reports, 21 of the 38 humanoid exhibitors at CES 2026 were from China[4]. Pudu reports nearly 15,000 robots deployed in the Americas and opened a new US headquarters in Richardson, in the Dallas area, in April 2026[5]. But public distribution announcements usually cover sales, deployment and training, and rarely spell out on-site repair[6].

3. Remote support solves most faults, but the rest need someone on site, and public outsourced field-service arrangements in North America are still few. One cleaning-robot maker says about 70% of faults are resolved remotely[7]. Public examples: Burroughs provides field service in the US and Canada for Pudu and Avidbots (Avidbots announced on-site response within 48 hours in covered areas)[8][9], and Tennant with Brain Corp offers service plans with an optional next-business-day on-site response[10]. In our public sample, US footholds of robot makers from China cluster in California, Texas, the Southeast, the Midwest and the Northeast; we found no public service locations in the US Pacific Northwest or Western Canada.

4. With few robots installed, a self-built team mostly pays for waiting time. Median pay for relevant US repair occupations is about US$65,000–74,000 a year[11][12]. Adding benefits, vehicle, travel and tools, KeepRobots' illustrative estimate puts a field engineer at about US$140,000 a year fully loaded. At 300 on-site hours a year that is about US$467 per on-site hour (about C$427 in British Columbia)[13]. Until one engineer's calendar is full, outsourcing to a network or regional provider is usually cheaper.

5. The biggest policy variable of 2026 is the FCC Covered List, and cross-border service is narrower than many assume. On 28 July 2026 the FCC added foreign-produced advanced robotic devices to the Covered List: new models cannot get equipment authorization, while import, sale and use of previously authorized models are not affected[14][15]. Local service and spare parts for robots already installed matter more as a result. China-origin industrial robots classified under HTS 8479.50 now face about 40% in combined US duties[16]. Canada charges no MFN duty on the same heading[17] and we found no Canadian measure like the FCC rule, but building or certifying in Canada does not get a product around US rules. Business-visitor rules in both countries tie cross-border repair work to the service scope agreed in the original sale or lease contract[18][19].

2. The North American robot market

IndicatorUnited StatesCanada
Industrial robot installations, 202538,400 (+12%), world #2[1]almost 4,000 (+5%)[20]
Robot density, 2024 (per 10,000 manufacturing workers)307, world #8241, world #13[21]
Robot orders (North America), 202536,766 robots, US$2.25 billion (+6.6% units), per A3[22]

Service robots. The IFR publishes service-robot statistics only at a global level. In 2025, transport and logistics accounted for about 117,000 units, hospitality 56,000 and professional cleaning 45,000[3]. Analysts expect strong growth in mobile robots: Interact Analysis forecasts global mobile-robot revenue rising from just under US$5 billion in 2024 to US$14 billion in 2030[23], and ABI Research expects shipments to grow from 547,000 in 2023 to 2.79 million in 2030[24].

By category. Brain Corp says more than 50,000 BrainOS-powered robots are deployed worldwide[25]. Serve Robotics reported an average of 792 daily active robots in Q2 2026 (including indoor robots), out of more than 2,000 deployed in the US since 2021[26]. The gap between deployed and active robots shows that operations and uptime are the bottleneck at scale. For humanoids, the IFR counts almost 6,900 units sold globally in 2025, overwhelmingly from Asian companies and mainly for testing, research and pilots[3]. Interact Analysis estimates only about 10% of humanoids produced by 2025 were in real-world operation[27]. Figure published the forearm as the main failure point of its 11-month BMW deployment[28], and Agility signed a commercial agreement with Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada[29].

Canada. Statistics Canada found that only 2.0% of Canadian enterprises had adopted robotics (0.9% in the North and West region: BC, the Prairie provinces and the territories). 73% of adopters sourced robotics entirely from external providers, and the top barrier was recruiting qualified staff (25.2%)[30]. Canadian customers rely heavily on outside deployment and maintenance capacity.

3. How robot makers from China are entering North America

From public announcements between January 2025 and October 2026, we see six entry paths, often used in sequence:

  1. Trade-show debut, no public local entity yet. CES 2026 was the focal point for humanoids; ISSA is the venue for cleaning robots and ProMat/MODEX for warehouse robots[4][31][32].
  2. National or US–Canada distributor. Examples are AgiBot with RobotShop (2026)[6], DEEP Robotics with ASI (2025)[33] and Segway Navimow with Orgill (2025)[34]. These announcements mostly cover sales, deployment and training.
  3. A dedicated service partner alongside distribution. Pudu with Burroughs[8], and Gausium's service certification of SoftBank Robotics America, which requires deployment-training certification; SBRA's deployment-specialist program includes three or more weeks of on-site training[35].
  4. US subsidiary, office or show center. Examples include Libiao (New Jersey)[36], SEER (Atlanta)[37], Dobot (Dallas)[38], Mech-Mind (Chicago)[39] and Hai Robotics (Georgia)[40].
  5. Headquarters, warehouses and a regional service network. Pudu is the most complete public example: an outsourced service network and US headquarters in 2025, then a Dallas headquarters with warehouses on both coasts in 2026[41][5].
  6. Retail distribution plus installer networks for consumer and outdoor robots, such as Navimow and Yarbo[34][42].

Policy is reshaping channels too. After the FCC rule, Unitree's US dealer RoboStore publicly launched Robo Inc. to pivot to US assembly and systems integration, and committed to keep supporting robots already sold[43]. Outside North America, JD.com's JoyRobocare announced in June 2026 that it had set up robot repair centers in the UK and Germany and said it would expand to the Americas later, without a timeline[44].

4. Five field-service models

ModelPublic exampleCost signalBest fit
Own North American teamPudu US HQ and warehouses[5]About US$139–144k / C$124–132k per engineer per year, fully loaded (illustrative estimate)[13]Fleet concentrated in one metro, steady ticket volume
Dealer / integratorRobotLAB[45]; RobotShop for AgiBot[6]Usually in the margin or a service contract; rarely publishedDealer with a real service bench
National third-party networkBurroughs for Pudu and Avidbots[8][9]Per contract or per ticket; not publishedLarge fleets across many US/Canadian cities
Equipment maker's own networkTennant with Brain Corp, next-business-day plans[10]Service plans, by contractProducts inside that maker's ecosystem
Regional field-service specialistLocal providers billing by the hour or ticket (KeepRobots is one)Pay per job; some publish ratesFirst units, scattered sites, mixed needs (demos, deployment, repair, storage)

Whatever the model, robot makers should keep firmware and root-cause analysis, spare-parts pricing, customer contracts, admin rights on the fleet platform and the final service promise in-house. Outsource execution, not judgement or accountability. More detail is in our 2026 field-service guide.

5. Policy and compliance (as of 12 October 2026)

  • FCC Covered List (DA 26-786, 28 July 2026). Covers foreign-produced advanced robotic devices: ground-mobile machines, including AMRs, humanoids and quadrupeds, that operate remotely or from sensors, weigh over 4.4 lb with base or charger, and have environmental sensors, a network connection of at least 200 kbps and control software. Fixed industrial arms, drones, connected vehicles and FD&C 513 medical devices are excluded. "Foreign-produced" is judged by place of production, so robots built in Canada or Europe are covered too. New models cannot be authorized unless they receive a Conditional Approval; previously authorized models can still be imported, sold and used[14][15]. DA 26-789 allows certain software/firmware updates to previously authorized devices until at least 1 January 2029[46]. Our analysis: FCC Covered List and robots: Canada vs the US.
  • US tariffs. For HTS 8479.50.00 of Chinese origin: 2.5% general duty, plus 25% Section 301 (List 1), plus 12.5% under the Section 301 action effective 24 July 2026, about 40% in total[47][16]. After the Supreme Court ruled on 20 February 2026 that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs, the IEEPA-based tariffs on China were terminated and CBP stopped collecting them from 24 February 2026[48]. A Section 232 investigation into robotics and industrial machinery opened in September 2025[49]; we found no published outcome as of this report. Classification is up to your customs broker; many service robots may not fall under 8479.50.
  • US safety. OSHA added UL 3300 (robots for service, communication, information, education and entertainment) to the NRTL list of appropriate test standards in December 2025[50].
  • Canada. Electrical products need a mark from an SCC-accredited certification body (CSA, cUL, cETL and others) or a field approval[51]; radio devices need ISED certification, a Canadian representative for foreign applicants and bilingual compliance statements[52]. Tariff heading 8479.50.00 is MFN duty-free in the 2026 Customs Tariff[17], with 5% GST at import. Canada's remaining 25% surtax on Chinese goods covers only steel and aluminum chapters, not robots or machinery[53]. Since 20 May 2025, importers must post their own security in CARM to get release before paying duties[54].

6. US vs Canada

  • Market size: the US installed roughly nine to ten times as many industrial robots as Canada in 2025[1][20]. If your first customers are in the US, plan for US certification, FCC and tariff rules first.
  • Canada as a demo, pilot, spares and service base: no FCC-style restriction found, MFN duty-free robot heading, and robots are not on the China surtax list. But Canada is not a route around US rules.
  • Cross-border service: US rules let Canadian citizens enter as CUSMA business visitors for after-sales installation, repair and maintenance only under a warranty or service contract incidental to the sale, during its term, for equipment made outside the US and bought from an enterprise outside the US[18][55]. Canada's rules similarly exclude service contracts negotiated with third parties after the sale, unless the original sales agreement already names the third-party provider[19]. A third-party provider crossing the border per ticket is not clearly covered, so get immigration advice. This is one reason many robot makers use separate local providers in each country.
  • Time zones: West Coast cities are 15–16 hours behind Beijing. Your field partner must be able to work with your engineers during China working hours.

7. Ten recommendations for robot makers entering North America

  1. Decide who goes on site before you sign your first North American contract. If the distribution agreement does not cover repair, arrange it separately.
  2. Get the most out of remote support (diagnostics, log export, remote firmware updates) to reduce site visits.
  3. Choose the model by ticket volume: outsource the first units; consider your own engineer once one metro can keep them busy.
  4. Stock spare parts close to customers, with consignment rules, movement records and regular reconciliation.
  5. Train your service partner like your own team: training material, fault trees, RMA rules and which seals not to break.
  6. Make sure ticket data comes back to you: serial numbers, firmware versions, fault codes, parts used, photos and logs.
  7. Plan certification for both countries at once (NRTL + FCC; SCC-accredited mark + ISED) and prepare French documentation.
  8. Assess FCC DA 26-786 before bringing a new model to the US, and keep a service and parts plan for authorized models.
  9. Check cross-border service with an immigration lawyer: status, tools and parts at the border, insurance.
  10. Never promise customers a response time faster than your service partner can actually deliver, and put it in the contract.

8. Method, disclaimer and about KeepRobots

Method. Written by KeepRobots in October 2026 with data current to 12 October 2026. We used only public sources: the IFR, A3, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Canada's Job Bank and Statistics Canada, the FCC, the CBSA, Canadian and US regulations, company press releases and trade media. KeepRobots has no proprietary industry survey data, and this report contains no non-public customer or project data. The company examples are a public sample, not a complete list; none of the companies named is a KeepRobots customer or partner.

Disclaimer. This report is for information only and is not legal, tax, customs, immigration or investment advice. Policies and tariffs change quickly; check official sources and consult professionals. To report an error, email partners@keeprobots.com.

About KeepRobots. KeepRobots (keeprobots.com) is a robot field-service company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It provides on-site deployment, after-sales repair, preventive maintenance, pre-sales demos and spare-parts storage for robots made by other companies. It is based in Greater Vancouver, serves Canada and the United States, and works in English and Chinese. KeepRobots does not manufacture or sell robots and is not an exclusive dealer for any brand. It is not affiliated with Keep Robotics or other companies with similar names. Contact: partners@keeprobots.com.

Cite as: KeepRobots, 2026 Robot Makers Entering North America: Field Service and After-Sales Report, https://keeprobots.com/reports/robot-north-america-field-service-2026/

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