Industry Brief, September 18, 2026: AMR import clearance, AMR payback, vision security

By MillBrief Editorial · September 18, 2026 · Retrospective edition, published September 23, 2026

This is a retrospective edition. The brief did not run on September 18, 2026; we wrote it on September 23, 2026 using only reporting that was published on or shortly before September 18, 2026, and it makes no forecasts.

This is a retrospective edition covering September 18, 2026, using only reporting published on or up to two days before that date. Today: what the FCC’s new rules on foreign-made robots mean when one imported mobile robot line gets cleared, a distributor’s mobile-robot program with unusually specific before-and-after numbers, and a vision software update that doubles as a security checklist. Our own words, links to the original outlet, vendor numbers labelled as vendor numbers.

An imported AMR line is cleared to keep selling in the US, conditionally

Robotics Tomorrow carries a release from ANSCER Robotics, a Bengaluru-based maker of autonomous mobile robots with a US subsidiary in Plano, Texas. It says its AR250, AR650 and AR1250 models have been named in the FCC’s conditional approvals for robotic devices. The background, as the release describes it: earlier in 2026 the FCC added foreign-produced advanced robotic devices to its Covered List under its communications supply-chain security rules. A conditional approval lets a named producer keep receiving the FCC equipment authorization it needs to import and sell in the US.

The release is careful on one point that buyers should not skip. Conditional approval is transitional. It is tied to ongoing commitments on US manufacturing and reporting, and it is not the same as a standard, unconditional FCC authorization. ANSCER says it is among the first robotics companies to be listed, alongside Husqvarna.

Why it matters: If you are buying a mobile robot, cobot or anything with a radio that is made outside the US, regulatory status is now part of vendor due diligence. Ask the vendor, in writing, which exact models are authorized, on what terms, and what happens to spares, replacement units and software updates if the conditions change. That belongs next to supplier durability on our integrator checklist.

Source: Robotics Tomorrow, September 18, 2026.

A distributor’s AMR program, with before-and-after numbers and a sub-one-year payback claim

Locus Robotics and its customer Kimball Midwest, a family-owned distributor of maintenance, repair and operations products, won the Best Use of Robotics category at the 2026 Supply Chain Excellence Awards USA, according to a release on Robotics Tomorrow. Kimball Midwest started with Locus in Columbus in January 2024 and went from one site to three (Ohio, Texas and Nevada) in 14 months, without major changes to its shelving or pallet racking. More than 100 robots now support both picking and putaway.

The companies’ figures: picking rose from about 110 to more than 160 lines per hour (roughly 45 percent), putaway rose from about 30 to 91 to 96 lines per hour, which they describe as more than 100 percent (on their own before-and-after numbers, it is closer to three times), and return on investment arrived in under a year. They also say new-worker onboarding fell from about two weeks to minutes or hours, temporary labour fell and overtime was effectively eliminated. Kimball’s director of operations credits using one platform for both picking and putaway, which lets managers move people between tasks as the day’s priorities shift.

Why it matters: These are vendor and customer numbers in an award release, not an audit. Still, they are the kind of numbers you should demand in your own proposal: lines per hour before and after, per task, per site. Note too that the system went into existing racking, which keeps the capital cost down, and that Locus describes its business as a Robots-as-a-Service model; if you are quoted a subscription, “payback” depends on how the fees are counted. Run the claim through our payback worksheet.

Source: Robotics Tomorrow, September 18, 2026.

A no-code vision package ships locked down by default, with a parts list for security checks

Robotics Tomorrow carries MVTec’s announcement of MERLIC 26.10, its machine vision software for building inspection and similar applications without programming, due for release on October 15, 2026. The main change is security. Communication between the software’s components is now encrypted, and it follows what MVTec calls a secure-by-default approach: out of the box only local connections are allowed, and remote access has to be switched on deliberately and can be protected with TLS. Remote connections now share a single port through separate endpoints, which MVTec says means fewer ports to open and simpler firewall rules.

For the first time, MVTec is also publishing software bills of materials (SBOMs) for most components, in the standard SPDX format. An SBOM lists what a piece of software is built from: components, versions, dependencies and licences. It can be checked against public lists of known vulnerabilities. The release also includes smaller usability changes, such as easier recipe setup and clearer display of regions of interest.

Why it matters: This is a vendor release, but the two features are worth asking any vision or automation supplier about, whoever you buy from. A camera station on the plant network is a computer on the plant network. Ask whether remote access is off by default, what has to be opened on your firewall, and whether the supplier can give you an SBOM so your IT team can check it. Those questions belong in your RFQ, before the order, not after.

Source: Robotics Tomorrow, September 17, 2026.