SAP Lets Joule Steer Robots Directly, Liability Still Open

08.09.2026

4 min read

SAP has documented the first Embodied AI Jam at the Swiss Smart Factory in Biel. Inspection drones were connected to Asset Performance Management, humanoids to Digital Manufacturing. The physical task comes from the enterprise software. Who is liable after a misstep – a customer, an integrator, or SAP – remains unresolved.

Key Takeaways

Three days in Biel, documented on 4 September 2026. SAP describes the Embodied AI Jam as a new format – without customer names and without a contract.
The control runs through the software. Drones ran on Asset Performance Management, humanoids on Digital Manufacturing, both via Joule and the Business AI Platform.
From January 2027, SAP Switzerland will be a member of the Factory. The format is set to be repeated. Control remains with inventory, approval, and abort criteria.

What is Embodied AI? SAP defines Embodied AI as AI agents with a body that perceive, reason, and act in a real-world environment. In the Jam, these agents ran on Joule and the SAP Business AI Platform.

In Biel, the use case takes three days

On 4 September 2026, SAP recorded the first Embodied AI Jam in its News Center. Customers had visited the Swiss Smart Factory in Biel the week before. Alexander Finger, CTO of SAP Switzerland, describes the event’s purpose like this: generating market interest in Embodied AI and moving it from a technology topic to business value tied to SAP called for a new format. A classic innovation jam without devices doesn’t cut it. Robots and a space where people can work alongside them are part of the deal.

Lukasz Ostrowski, head of the Embodied AI initiative at SAP, puts the time into perspective. Figuring out where Embodied AI generates genuine business value and shaping a solution normally takes weeks of scattered coordination. Three days of concentrated work with customers changed that. Teams, integrators, and device manufacturers spent the same three days in a single hall.

Participating companies, unit counts, a purchase contract, and the exact calendar dates are not known.

The drone reads the asset file

The Jam featured two pairings. Inspection drones were connected to SAP Asset Performance Management, humanoids to SAP Digital Manufacturing. SAP also names warehouse automation, asset inspection, and material flow as scenarios in which Embodied AI is meant to generate value. The devices are interchangeable. The file is not.

The control runs through Joule and the SAP Business AI Platform. The robot is meant to execute the task from the enterprise software, with inventory, maintenance status, and production sequence in view. A pick without a current storage location, an inspection without an open work order, a transport without approval: an outdated data record becomes a physical misstep. Whether the chain holds up in live plant operations, the Jam did not show.

SAP describes the physical step like an automated booking – with a data source, approval, and abort.

SAP Switzerland to Become a Member as of January 2027

As of January 2027, SAP Switzerland will become a member of the Swiss Smart Factory. Finger justifies the move with the physical dimension. Customers should be able to see robots carrying out tasks from business processes. The Customer Experience Labs will remain the place for applications, data, and AI without hardware. In Biel, robots and a hall are ready for this purpose. Shorter discovery formats are to be added.

The membership is an appointment. It does not transfer operations. No obligation for the ongoing customer business follows from it. Afterward, SAP can replicate the format in Biel. What remains open is which processes a device may physically execute, which data states apply in doing so, and who stops the run when the record is wrong.

Liability follows the asset file. If a humanoid grabs the wrong crate because inventory in the software lags behind, the fault lies in stocktaking and release. If a drone performs an inspection that is not open in the asset file, the fault lies in the order chain. The device manufacturer supplies the motor and sensor, the integrator the connection. As soon as Joule sets the task, the decision lies in the software of SAP. Whether the device manufacturer, the integrator, and SAP will contractually fix this division before a second Jam remains open.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did SAP do in Biel?

In the week leading up to 4 September 2026, SAP held the first Embodied AI Jam at the Swiss Smart Factory in Biel. For three days, customers, device manufacturers, integrators and SAP experts worked on use cases. The announcement appeared on 4 September 2026 in the SAP News Center. No customer names or contracts were disclosed.

Which software was hooked up to the robots?

SAP named two connections: drones paired with Asset Performance Management, and humanoids paired with Digital Manufacturing. Control is described by SAP via Joule and the Business AI Platform. Warehousing, inspection and material flow are the scenarios cited.

Has the Jam produced a purchase or a product yet?

No. The announcement contains no deal, no unit numbers and no general availability. It describes a format.

What does the membership from January 2027 change?

SAP Switzerland will become a member of the Swiss Smart Factory and intends to repeat Embodied AI Jams as well as shorter discovery formats there. This does not translate into any obligation for customers to run their operations this way.

Who bears liability when the robot executes the task?

No contractual allocation of liability is known. As soon as the task originates from enterprise software, ownership of the inventory, approval and abort sits with the organisation that holds the record. Device manufacturers and the integrator supply the motor, sensors and connectivity.