Ahead of the pack, Qualcomm to acquire PickNik Robotics

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced an agreement to acquire PickNik Inc., a robotics software company and steward of MoveIt, an open-source robotics manipulation framework built on the Robot Operating System. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions, according to a company press release.

MoveIt is used by developers, researchers, and commercial robotics organizations across industries including industrial automation, service robotics, and mobile manipulation. Qualcomm stated it intends to keep MoveIt open-source under its existing license with community-driven roadmaps and plans to continue supporting the framework across third-party hardware platforms.

Following the acquisition, Qualcomm plans to integrate MoveIt and PickNik’s commercial platform, MoveIt Pro, with its Dragonwing robotics platforms. The company also announced planned integration with Arduino VENTUNO Q boards, with the goal of expanding access to motion planning and edge AI capabilities for a broader developer base.