January 7, 2026
At CES 2026, Oshkosh Corporation is making a clear statement about where heavy equipment and specialty vehicles are headed next: toward smarter, safer, cleaner, and more autonomous operations. Showcasing in booth #4418 in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, Oshkosh is highlighting real-world technologies designed to support everyday heroes across construction job sites, neighborhoods, and airports.
What makes the company’s CES presence notable is not just the breadth of technology on display, but the intent behind it. Oshkosh is positioning its innovations as practical solutions for people doing demanding, high-risk work, from firefighters and airport ground crews to construction workers and refuse collectors.
Oshkosh’s CES 2026 showcase centers on the convergence of four major forces:
In Oshkosh’s framing, these aren’t separate technology tracks. They are becoming a single system that moves the industry from “equipment that helps you do work” to equipment that can execute work with less risk and more consistency.
Oshkosh CEO John Pfeifer described the company’s focus as empowering those who “build, serve, and protect communities,” using solutions that are “safe, intuitive, productive and clean.”
One of the most compelling areas Oshkosh is highlighting is work at height on construction job sites, where manual workflows and disconnected equipment create inefficiencies and safety concerns. Oshkosh says its JLG brand is building an “intelligent ecosystem” that connects people, equipment, tools, and materials.
Oshkosh unveiled a next-generation electric articulated boom lift that can be outfitted with an autonomous tool, effectively turning a traditional lift into an industrial-scale robotic system. The company describes applications like welding, painting, ductwork, and material handling, reducing the need for a worker to perform repetitive tasks at height.
This system received top honors in the Robotics category at the CES 2026 Innovation Awards, along with recognition in Construction and Industrial Tech.
The second innovation is a set of micro-sized scissor lifts using leader-follower technology, enabling one operator in a lead lift to guide multiple follower lifts across a worksite. Oshkosh also describes configurations where lifts can autonomously move and lift materials to a target location.
The example Oshkosh provides is practical: two lifts could coordinate to move and lift an I-beam into place, then notify another machine via fleet connectivity that the beam is ready for welding.
Oshkosh also announced it has acquired the core technology developed by Canvas, a construction robotics company known for developing the world’s first robotic drywall finishing system. Oshkosh says this technology expands its portfolio of connected, autonomous, intelligent equipment designed to improve safety, productivity, and consistent quality in demanding construction work.
Oshkosh is also advancing its “neighborhood of the future” vision, emphasizing that many technologies showcased at CES 2025 are now already in production. This year’s highlights focus heavily on refuse collection and roadside safety.
Oshkosh is demonstrating a system that uses onboard cameras and edge processing to scan recycling materials in real time, applying AI models to detect contaminants like plastic bags, textiles, and other non-recyclables.
Notably, the company says the system can map contamination to an exact pickup location, providing municipalities and haulers actionable feedback to help educate residents and reduce landfill diversion.
Oshkosh’s autonomous refuse robot, HARR-E, first introduced at CES 2025, returns with an updated two-piece design intended to improve transfer into dumpsters or central collection points. Oshkosh says HARR-E can measure volume and weight per pickup, alert waste companies when containers approach capacity, and optimize routes with AI to handle multiple requests efficiently.
The company lists use cases including planned communities, campuses, corporate parks, event venues, stadiums, and even indoor environments like malls and senior living facilities.
Oshkosh is also scaling its Collision Avoidance Mitigation System (CAMS), an AI-powered solution designed to anticipate collision hazards and warn responders working near active traffic. After field testing with major city fire departments over the past year, Oshkosh says it is expanding the platform to support EMS crews, police officers managing traffic, and tow operators.
Airports represent another environment where Oshkosh believes autonomy, electrification, and intelligent systems can improve both safety and efficiency.
Oshkosh is showcasing the Striker Volterra Electric Airport Rescue and Firefighting Vehicle, built on its Volterra electrification technology. Oshkosh claims the 45-ton vehicle accelerates from zero to 50 mph in under 25 seconds, representing a 28 percent performance improvement over traditional internal combustion ARFF vehicles, while reducing emissions in a high-idle application.
The Volterra ARFF received top honors in the CES Innovation Awards Travel and Tourism category, and Oshkosh expects it to be one of the largest vehicles at the show.
Oshkosh is also demonstrating a fleet of modular autonomous robots designed to assist ground crews during the rapid turnaround period between aircraft touchdown and takeoff. The company says these robots can help with repetitive ramp tasks, operate in inclement weather, and support day or night operations.
This platform is described as purpose-built for commercial airport operations, but rooted in a proven system originally designed for defense applications, combining autonomous mobility, AI perception, and configurable hardware.
In addition to demos, Oshkosh is hosting tech talks throughout CES, covering topics ranging from robotics in aviation and refuse settings to strategic partnerships and intelligent fleet management. Sessions include multiple talks from January 6 through January 8, 2026, reinforcing that the company is aiming to shape industry adoption, not just show prototypes.
Oshkosh’s CES 2026 showcase offers a preview of what technical documentation and training teams will increasingly need to support:
In other words, the product is no longer just hardware. It is a hardware + software + data system, and technical communication will need to be structured accordingly.
CES attendees can see Oshkosh’s future-forward vision at booth #4418 in the West Hall at LVCC. Oshkosh also points readers to its CES landing page for more details on demonstrations and sessions.
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