--- title: "MQTT Broker for Robot Fleets & Physical AI | ConnectMQ" description: "Connect AMRs, cobots and drones to your fleet manager, WMS and AI data pipeline over MQTT — telemetry, mission commands, Last Will and per-robot ACLs." url: "https://connectmq.com/robotics/" language: "en" --- Connected Robots & Physical AI # MQTT for Connected Robots & Physical AI AMRs, cobots, drones and humanoids publish telemetry and events over MQTT, and your fleet manager sends missions back on their own topics. ConnectMQ connects every robot to your fleet manager, WMS or MES and the data pipeline for your physical-AI models. [Try it free](https://app.connectmq.com/signup) [Quickstart](https://connectmq.com/developers/) No card required What you can build ## Build your robot fleet platform on ConnectMQ You build the fleet manager and the AI pipeline, ConnectMQ moves the data. Robots publish once — often through an MQTT bridge next to ROS 2 on board — and your fleet manager, WMS or MES, AI data pipeline and safety alerts each subscribe in parallel. Missions go back on dedicated topics. Your robots **Mobile robots (AMRs)**robots/{id}/telemetry **Cobot cells**cells/{id}/cobot/state **Drones**drones/{id}/telemetry **Charging docks**docks/{id}/status **ConnectMQ** - TLS on 8883 - per-device ACL - QoS 0, 1 and 2 - Last Will What you build on top **Fleet manager** **WMS / MES** **AI data pipeline** **Safety & alerts** What you get ## Connected Robots & Physical AI on ConnectMQ - Telemetry and events from every robot, mission commands back with QoS 1 - Last Will marks a robot offline the moment it drops off the network - Retained state, so a restarted fleet manager knows every robot at once - Separate credentials and topic ACLs for every robot and application example topic design ``` robots/amr-12/telemetry robots/amr-12/mission/set robots/amr-12/status (retained) ``` Publish once ## One robot’s telemetry, every system in parallel A robot publishes its position, battery and state once. Your fleet manager, your AI data pipeline and your safety monitor each subscribe on their own — adding a new consumer never touches the robot. Missions travel back on their own topic, and only the fleet manager is allowed to publish there. **Fan-out** **AMR-12**robots/amr-12/telemetry`{"x":42.1,"y":7.8,"battery":64}` **ConnectMQ** **Fleet manager**jobs, traffic and charging **AI data pipeline**training and evaluation data you collect **Safety monitor**stops, zones and near misses **Missions go back on their own topic**`robots/amr-12/mission/set``{"goto":"dock-3"}` Real-life example ## Send a robot to charge before its battery runs out A common MQTT setup in a warehouse: each AMR publishes telemetry, the fleet manager subscribes and sends missions back on the robot’s own topic. Robots and fleet manager both connect out to ConnectMQ over TLS. Warehouse, aisle 4 → ConnectMQ → Fleet manager. Publishes its telemetry every second over the warehouse Wi-Fi. On its way to job 4471, the battery drops to 18 %. Subscribed through ConnectMQ: it moves job 4471 to AMR-07 and sends AMR-12 to dock-3, with QoS 1. Its MQTT bridge hands the mission to the robot’s navigation; it drives to dock-3 and reports that it is docked. Gets a notification: AMR-12 is charging, and AMR-07 has already taken over the job.ConnectMQMQTT broker · TLS 8883Low battery → AMR-12 to dock-3AMR-1224 %18 % ▼→ dock-3docked ✓4471 → AMR-07Fleet managerYour software · subscribedJob 4471→ AMR-12→ AMR-07dock-3ChargingAMR-07AMR-1224 %18 %18 %Warehouse, aisle 4AMR-12 · AMR-07 · dock-3robots/amr-12/telemetry {"battery":18}robots/amr-12/telemetry {"battery":18}robots/amr-12/mission/set {"goto":"dock-3"}robots/amr-12/mission/set {"goto":"dock-3"}robots/amr-12/mission/state {"state":"docked"}Fleet manager · nowAMR-12 docked at dock-3 — job 4471 moved to AMR-07Warehouse, aisle 4 → ConnectMQ → Fleet manager. Publishes its telemetry every second over the warehouse Wi-Fi. On its way to job 4471, the battery drops to 18 %. Subscribed through ConnectMQ: it moves job 4471 to AMR-07 and sends AMR-12 to dock-3, with QoS 1. Its MQTT bridge hands the mission to the robot’s navigation; it drives to dock-3 and reports that it is docked. Gets a notification: AMR-12 is charging, and AMR-07 has already taken over the job.ConnectMQMQTT broker · TLS 8883Low battery → AMR-12 to dock-3AMR-1224 %18 % ▼→ dock-3docked ✓4471 → AMR-07Fleet managerYour software · subscribedJob 4471→ AMR-12→ AMR-07dock-3ChargingAMR-07AMR-1224 %18 %18 %Warehouse, aisle 4AMR-12 · AMR-07 · dock-3robots/amr-12/telemetry {"battery":18}robots/amr-12/telemetry {"battery":18}robots/amr-12/mission/set {"goto":"dock-3"}robots/amr-12/mission/set {"goto":"dock-3"}robots/amr-12/mission/state {"state":"docked"}Fleet manager · nowAMR-12 docked at dock-3 — job 4471 moved to AMR-07 1. 14:32 **AMR-12** Publishes its telemetry every second over the warehouse Wi-Fi. On its way to job 4471, the battery drops to 18 %. `robots/amr-12/telemetry → {"x":42.1,"y":7.8,"battery":18,"state":"moving"}` 2. 14:32 **Fleet manager** Subscribed through ConnectMQ: it moves job 4471 to AMR-07 and sends AMR-12 to dock-3, with QoS 1. `robots/amr-12/mission/set → {"goto":"dock-3","reason":"charge"}` 3. 14:33 **AMR-12** Its MQTT bridge hands the mission to the robot’s navigation; it drives to dock-3 and reports that it is docked. `robots/amr-12/mission/state → {"goto":"dock-3","state":"docked"}` 4. 14:33 **Shift lead** Gets a notification: AMR-12 is charging, and AMR-07 has already taken over the job. **A robot drops off the Wi-Fi:** ConnectMQ publishes its Last Will `robots/amr-12/status → offline` as a retained message, so the fleet manager stops assigning it jobs right away. [Python code sample](https://connectmq.com/code-samples/python/) [Node.js code sample](https://connectmq.com/code-samples/nodejs/) Platform ## Features that help with Connected Robots & Physical AI [ ### Dashboard & monitoring Live topic cards, signals and ISA-95 workspace Learn more](https://connectmq.com/monitoring/)[ ### Rules & alerts Threshold rules, alert log and notifications Learn more](https://connectmq.com/rules-alerts/)[ ### Digital Twin Your factory in 3D with live MQTT telemetry Learn more](https://connectmq.com/digital-twin/) Solutions ## Other ways teams use ConnectMQ [ ### Industrial IoT & Smart Manufacturing Machines, PLC gateways, OEE and quality data ](https://connectmq.com/industrial-iot/)[ ### Smart Home Hubs, sensors and Home Assistant setups ](https://connectmq.com/smart-home/)[ ### Fleet Telematics Vehicle tracking, telematics and cold chain ](https://connectmq.com/fleet-logistics/)[ ### Smart Energy Meters, EV chargers, solar and batteries ](https://connectmq.com/energy-utilities/)[ ### Connected Products & Smart Hardware Smart devices you ship to your own customers ](https://connectmq.com/connected-products/)[ ### Data Center Monitoring Power, cooling and rack environment ](https://connectmq.com/data-centers/)[ ### Smart City Streetlights, parking, air and waste sensors ](https://connectmq.com/smart-city/)[ ### Smart Agriculture Soil probes, weather stations and irrigation ](https://connectmq.com/smart-agriculture/)[ ### Prototyping & Education From first ESP32 to classroom labs ](https://connectmq.com/prototyping-education/) Industries & use cases ## Where teams use Connected Robots & Physical AI ### Industries - [Manufacturing](https://connectmq.com/industries/manufacturing/) - [Transportation & Logistics](https://connectmq.com/industries/transportation-logistics/) - [Retail & E-commerce](https://connectmq.com/industries/retail-ecommerce/) - [Agriculture](https://connectmq.com/industries/agriculture/) ### Use cases - [Industrial Agentic AI Operations](https://connectmq.com/use-cases/industrial-agentic-ai/) - [Agricultural Drones](https://connectmq.com/use-cases/agricultural-drones/) Pilot ## Pilot one robot cell this week Start on the Free plan with no card. Basic covers up to 100 concurrent connections — enough for a pilot fleet of robots, their charging docks and your fleet manager. Move to Scale when you add sites and robots. [Start for free](https://app.connectmq.com/signup) [See pricing](https://connectmq.com/pricing/) ## Articles [All articles](https://connectmq.com/blog/) MQTT Fundamentals ### [MQTT 5 Features That Matter in Practice: Reason Codes, Shared Subscriptions, Expiry and More](https://connectmq.com/blog/mqtt-5-features/) MQTT 5 is more than a version bump. Learn the features that change how you build IoT systems, from reason codes and expiry to shared subscriptions and request/response, with hands-on examples. September 22, 20269 min read MQTT Fundamentals ### [MQTT QoS Levels Explained: QoS 0, 1 and 2 with Packet Flows and Examples](https://connectmq.com/blog/mqtt-qos-levels-explained/) A practical guide to MQTT QoS: how QoS 0, 1 and 2 work on the wire, why the delivered QoS can be lower than you asked for, how sessions queue messages and which level to choose for each use case. August 20, 20269 min read MQTT Security ### [MQTT Security Best Practices: A 12-Point Checklist for IoT Teams](https://connectmq.com/blog/mqtt-security-best-practices/) A hands-on MQTT security checklist covering TLS, credentials, client IDs, topic design, payload validation, rate limits and certificate checks, plus how ConnectMQ handles each point. September 28, 202611 min read