Modern mobile robots are networked systems. Equipped with cameras, sensors, onboard computers, and wireless communications, they can observe and record the factories, warehouses, homes, and public spaces in which they operate. In July 2026, the United States (U.S.) Federal Communications Commission (FCC) added foreign-produced advanced robotic devices, including mobile humanoids and quadrupeds, to its Covered List, blocking new equipment authorization for these products.
The ruling responds to genuine security concerns. But it also brings into focus how heavily the U.S. robotics research base depends on the very supply chains it is designed to restrict. A critical gap has been brought to light by this ruling: U.S. robotics researchers rely heavily on foreign-made robots and components, and the domestic manufacturing, verification methods, test infrastructure, and workforce needed to replace them are not yet in place.
The Computing Community Consortium’s (CCC) newest white paper, Securing the Robotics Supply Chain: Technical Needs and Investment Opportunities for the Domestic Robotics Research Ecosystem, sets out what a sustained federal research and investment agenda would need to include to close that gap over the coming decade. The paper is authored by Cindy L. Bethel (University of Alabama), Henrik I. Christensen (University of California San Diego), Odest Chadwicke Jenkins (University of Michigan), George Pappas (University of Pennsylvania), and Holly Yanco (University of Massachusetts Amherst).
Securing the Robotics Supply Chain White Paper
What’s Inside
The paper examines where the U.S. robotics research ecosystem stands today, including its reliance on foreign-made research platforms and components, and outlines what it would take to build a secure, domestically capable alternative. Key themes include:
- Verifying trust in a mixed supply chain: Research needed to build and certify robotic systems that can be trusted even when some components come from sources that cannot be fully vetted.
- Investing in hardware and infrastructure: The case for sustained support of component-level hardware research and shared, open-access test facilities.
- Federal investment and coordination: Opportunities to strengthen domestic manufacturing, preserve research access, and move robotics research from lab to market.
- Workforce and education: Building the talent pipeline needed to design, manufacture, and secure robotic systems, from K-12 through the doctorate.
Read the Full White Paper
The response is available now. We encourage all members of the computing community to read the full white paper here.
Looking for another way to get involved? Drones face many of the same supply chain questions raised in this white paper. On November 3 at 2:00 p.m. ET, CCC will host a Community Chat webinar and Q&A titled Computing on the Fly: Navigating a Vision for the Future of Drone Computing, featuring Dirk Giles (U.S. Forest Service) and Sabine Brunswicker (Purdue University). Learn more and register here.
Tune in to the CCC LinkedIn Showcase Page for updates and more resources like this. Stay connected with CCC for the latest insights, publications, and opportunities to engage by subscribing here.
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) under Award Nos. 2300842 and 2619366. These awards support the Computing Community Consortium (CCC), a programmatic committee of the Computing Research Association (CRA). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
