PickNik Robotics expands MoveIt Pro software capabilities of Franka Research 3 robot arm

Accelerated AI robotics development through simulation

By Robotics 24/7 Staff November 6, 2025

PickNik Robotics

PickNik Robotics expanded the AI capabilities of its MoveIt Pro software platform on the Franka Research 3 robot arm.

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PickNik Robotics, a Colorado-based developer of advanced robotic software offerings, announced expanded support for the Franka Research 3 (FR3) robot arm in its flagship software platform, MoveIt Pro.

The company said this expanded support will enable researchers to accelerate AI robotics development through high-fidelity simulation, training data collection, and hardware-ready policy deployment.

PickNik, Franka Robotics collaboration continues manipulation advancements

PickNik and Franka Robotics have partnered since 2018 to provide tools for robotic manipulation. Franka’s robot arms are globally adopted in research institutions. PickNik said that these Franka arms are recognized for their sensitivity, precision and reliability.

“AI research in robotics depends on safe, reliable ways to collect data and validate algorithms,” said Dave Coleman, PhD, Founder and Chief Product Officer at PickNik Robotics. “With MoveIt Pro and Franka Research 3, teams can focus on innovation instead of integration.”

The companies said that this latest collaboration highlights their shared commitment to advancing AI for robotics manipulation.

The new MoveIt Pro integration for FR3 includes:

Complete robot models (URDF/SRDF) for single- and dual-arm setups.
High-fidelity digital twin environments to collect training data and test policies.
Tutorials for collecting datasets and training diffusion policies.
A detailed hardware setup guide to move from simulation to real systems.

PickNik said this collaboration addresses one of the central bottlenecks in AI robotics: the gap between research and deployment. By combining FR3’s hardware capabilities with MoveIt Pro’s advanced planning and simulation tools, the companies said that researchers and decision-makers can more effectively advance manipulation AI while reducing cost and risk.

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PickNik Robotics expands MoveIt Pro software capabilities of Franka Research 3 robot arm