QNX study finds software architecture is now the biggest bottleneck to robotics progress, with 27% of developers citing it as their primary constraint compared to 16% pointing to hardware.

QNX commissioned OnePoll to survey 1,000 software developers and engineers working in robotics, collecting data between Feb. 2, 2025 and April 3, 2026. The study, titled 'Inside the Robot: Architecture Benchmark Report,' examined how robotics development is shifting toward more software-driven, AI-enabled, and human-adjacent systems.

Almost one in three developers (27%) named software architecture and integration as their biggest performance bottleneck, compared with just 16% who pointed to hardware. Looking ahead, 85% of developers expect software to play an even greater role in robotics over the next three to five years, with anticipated investments focused on AI-driven decision making and cybersecurity (both at 51%), followed by operating systems and real-time control software (37%).

More than four in five respondents (83%) said their systems are already operating alongside people. Among those without such deployments, two-thirds (67%) expect to do so within three to five years. However, despite 95% of respondents saying deterministic, real-time execution is important, 91% run safety-critical workloads, at least in part, on general-purpose operating systems not designed for real-time or safety-critical use.

Two-thirds of respondents (66%) reported project delays because of certification processes, rising to about 70% in the U.K. and Germany. Cybersecurity standards such as ISO/SAE 21434 and functional safety standards like ISO 10218 were among the most challenging areas to comply with, cited by 51% and 49% of respondents, respectively.