Building a massive ship is hard, physical work. It involves tight spaces, heavy lifting, and hours of precise welding. To help with the heavy lifting, the Italian shipbuilding giant Fincantieri is teaming up with a startup called Generative Bionics. Their goal is to put humanoid robots to work in the shipyard alongside human workers.

The company emphasizes that it isn’t about replacing people. However, its goal is to give the workers a hand with the most tiring and repetitive parts of the job.

Mainly, the robots will focus on welding, relying on artificial intelligence and advanced sensors to “see” the materials they’re working on. They’re also designed with legs and arms that allow them to move around the complex environments of a naval shipyard.

How the Robot Welders “See” and Work

The project is set to run for four years. However, the company is working fast to start testing these robotic welders at the Sestri Ponente shipyard by the end of 2026. The goal is to have the robots work within two years, and then they’ll spend the rest of the time refining the tech and getting it certified.

“Advanced robotics and artificial intelligence applied to industrial processes represent a strategic lever for the evolution of shipbuilding and for the competitiveness of the European industrial system,” said Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and General Manager of Fincantieri. “The collaboration with Generative Bionics is part of the transformation journey we are undertaking to strengthen our operational excellence, enhance the work of our people, and address in a structured way the challenges related to growing production complexity and the availability of specialized skills.”

Testing Physical AI

Moreover, Generative Bionics wants to prove that humanoid robots can work in the real world. By testing them in a shipyard, they can show that “Physical AI” can handle complex tasks.

Daniele Pucci, CEO and Co-Founder of Generative Bionics, talked highly of the partnership.

“The collaboration with Fincantieri is part of our path toward industrialization and market deployment,” she explained. “Shipyards represent a strategic asset for global manufacturing, which is why we chose Fincantieri to demonstrate how our Physical AI solutions can translate into reliable, safe, and truly useful systems.”

“This project enables us to develop humanoid robots designed around human work, capable of operating side by side with people and contributing to the long-term sustainability of highly intensive and specialized activities,” Pucci added.