Automate 2025 assembled in Detroit last week.
Source: The Robot ReportDETROIT —-- At the height of trade convention season, Automate 2025 supplied chances to see the state of commercial and industrial automation.
From robot arms and mobile platforms to grippers, sensing units, and software, as well as academic and technical workshops, there was something for everyone at the event.Thanks again to the many people who met with The Robot Report and WTWH Media’& rsquo; s team at Automate 2025.
Here are 10 trends culled from those conferences, walking the two exhibit halls, and attending sessions.1.
Shows keep growing, despite economic headwindsWith an approximated 35,000 to 40,000 attendees, 850 exhibitors, and numerous sessions, Automate 2025 experienced a 40% increase in registrants given that it was last held in Detroit in 2023, according to Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3).
That’& rsquo; s similar to the development of other trade shows and conferences, including Manifest, ProMat, and our own Robotics Summit & & Expo.
In addition, the various networking events around these events have also grown, as the people who utilize, offer, develop, and style robots seek to connect.The shift of U.S.
car manufacturers to electric and autonomous cars has slowed, and there were no lorry chassis being swung around by big robot arms as in past years (supposedly since robotics couldn’& rsquo; t be bolted into the flooring).
While recent reports from A3 and Interact Analysis discovered slowing sales of commercial automation and layoffs over the previous year, they and other market observers such as the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) kept in mind that development has continued.The agreement is that the market will improve later on this year or early in 2026, depending upon geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions (more on that listed below).
Forward-thinking business are evaluating and adopting innovation now to keep their competitive edge.Automate has certainly grown considering that it divided from being every other year and co-located with ProMat.
Next year, it will remain in Chicago, and in 2027, the program will move to Las Vegas.Now accepting session submissions! 2.
Innovation change is incrementalOne of the most common concerns that Automate participants and exhibitors asked press reporters is, “& ldquo; What did you see that’& rsquo; s brand-new? & rdquo; There were some new products and incremental enhancements this year, however no brand-new form factors or applications.One of the greatest statements at this year’& rsquo; s occasion was Universal Robots & rsquo; release of the UR15, its fastest collaborative robotic arm yet.Given A3’& rsquo; s focus and subscription, it was not a surprise to see great deals of vision-guided robotic applications, from welding and finishing to assembly.
And being in Motor City, there were some fascinating demonstrations of brand-new tasks that can now be automated, such as clipping vehicle body parts, specifically plugging in electrical wiring harnesses, and handling of smaller and more diverse device parts.From left: Editor Mike Oitzman, Teradyne’& rsquo; s Ujjwal Kumar, Engelberger Award honoree Stu Shepherd, and editor Eugene Demaitre at Universal Robots’ & rsquo; exhibition in Detroit.
Source: The Robot Report3.
Industrial and collective robotics continue to convergeCobots —-- or more properly, force- and power-limited robotics —-- are developed to be lighter, simpler to configure, and to stop upon contact with obstacles for safety factors.
Numerous of the applications they’& rsquo; re utilized for, such as machine tending, are still caged as a result of essential office and workflow assessments.Cobots from Universal Robots, ABB, Doosan, FANUC, KUKA, and Techman Robot have ended up being more capable over time, with increasing precision and payload capabilities.
Requirement Bots this month released a 30 kg (66.1 lb.) robotic arm with collective features.Larger cobots, such as Doig’& rsquo; s Pallet EZ utilizing D: PLOY with OnRobot, appropriate for tasks such as palletizing.CeiliX had one of the more interesting screens, with a robotic arm suspended from rails.
Its unique feature is that it could move diagonally thanks to a special gripping system.On the industrial automation side, business such as Epson Robots, Sensory Robotics, and SICK are making it possible for commercial automation to sense when a person goes into a specific area and decrease or stop.Yamaha demonstrated bin selecting, while FANUC had a big robot imitating vehicle body welding.
Yaskawa, among the biggest robotics vendors in the world, was absent from this year’& rsquo; s show.Speaking of big guns, Kawasaki had perhaps the greatest robotic arm at the program, moving a big display, while ABB robotics moved steel plates.Kawasaki had among the largest robots at Automate 2025.
Source: The Robot Report4.
It’& rsquo; s all about the community at Automate 2025Teradyne Robotics, the moms and dad of Universal Robots (UR) and Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), had among the greatest cubicles at Automate 2025.
Unlike the more crowded screens of, state, ABB or FANUC, it picked to expand its partner shows to show its open technique to its environment.
UR cobots were also in at least 30 other booths.This year, almost every huge automation service provider showed the breadth of their offerings, with Zebra Technologies incorporating Photoneo’& rsquo; s perception innovation and ABB completely integrating ASTI‘& lsquo; s mobile robots.The worldwide robotics ecosystem was likewise well-represented at Automate 2025, including displays by the Pittsburgh Robotics Network and Taiwan Excellence, events with Canadian and Danish business, and big delegations from South Korea and Japan, to name a few countries.Techman Robot provides as part of Taiwan Excellence event at Automate 2025.
Source: The Robot Report5.
Part suppliers and integrators still key to adoptionThere were lots of component innovations and integration services to learn about at Automate, consisting of motion control offerings from Harmonic Drive and Elmo Motion Control.In addition, Sonair debuted its ADAR sensor, which includes 3D ultrasonic understanding to lidar and cams for robotic safety.
Orbbec revealed its Gemini 435Le, which offers improved stereo vision for robots.Festo flaunted brand-new controls, Kübler talked about its new encoder, and Beckhoff provided modular items for cabinet-free automation, among other technology displays.Hall E, downstairs from the primary Halls A through D, included lots of smaller and newer robotics business, such as ESTAT Actuation, whose braking technologypromises to make robots lighter, safer, and more energy-efficient.6.
Mobile robots move in a tighter marketWith more of a concentrate on production than supply chain, it’& rsquo; s not surprising that there were more robot arms, SCARA robotics, and delta robotics at Automate 2025 than autonomous mobile robot (AMR) providers.There were still notable AMRs to see, including Mobile Industrial Robots’ & rsquo; bigger platforms, Nidec‘& lsquo; s cleaning system, and ATI’& rsquo; s tuggers.
TriOrb has actually developed an omnidirectional platform using three balls instead of wheels.Several AMR announcements around the program concentrated on sensing, such as or ABB adding visual SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) to its Flexley Mover robot.SEER Robotics assured simple integration and management of AMRs with its “& ldquo; Build your own robotic fleet within days” & rdquo; theme.
ForwardX showed palletizing, really narrow aisle (VNA), and rack-moving systems, as well as its OmniFleet software.ForwardX demonstrated AMRs and fleet software application at Automate 2025.
Source: The Robot Report7.
Mobile manipulators get ahead of humanoid robotsLast year, A3 hosted a panel on humanoid robotics, but this year, Agility Robotics‘ & lsquo; Digit was amongst the few humanoids on the show flooring.
Behind high plexiglass walls, Digit showed its capability to take totes from a conveyor belt to an AMR, albeit in a smaller exhibition than Agility’& rsquo; s booth at ProMat.In the meantime, the number of mobile manipulators has actually grown, with Teradyne’& rsquo; s MC600 and robotics in the cubicles of RealMan, KUKA, and more.
The combination of cobot or light industrial arms with AMRs is readily available now or in the future, compared to humanoids, which are likely still years from prevalent use.8.
Software application, data, and AI viewed as robotics enablersSoftware providers and integrators have a tough task at trade shows, since their screens normally aren’& rsquo; t as visual as those of total option suppliers.
That stated, almost every exhibitor at Automate 2025 touted the importance of linking the evolving robotics software application stack to enterprise systems, collecting the right data, and utilizing that information for simulation and training AI models.Mujin discussed how its systems can be trained with its “& ldquo; no-code & rdquo; technique.
Inbolt discussed its vision system, which is intended to allow real-time decision making, while Geisel Software revealed its Symage synthetic data image generator.Schneider Electric introduced its commercial “& ldquo; copilot, & rdquo; which incorporates with Microsoft Azure.“& ldquo; PolyScope X incorporates with Teradyne’& rsquo; s AI Accelerator set developed with NVIDIA to build applications,” & rdquo; noted Jane Heffner, vice president of sales for the Americas at Teradyne Robotics.
“& ldquo; Target applications consist of harsh environments in metals and machinery, adaptable and accurate operations in electronics, and high-speed bin picking in logistics.”& rdquo; Realtime Robotics introduced and showed Resolver, a cloud-based system that it said can coordinate multiple robots in a workcell to prevent collision, aid developers, and accelerate cycle times.Realtime’& rsquo; s Optimization software application prevents crashes in multi-robot workcells.
Source: Realtime Robotics9.
Tariffs top of mind for lots of at Automate 2025The existing U.S.
administration is still in negotiations with China, Europe, and others about tariffs, so couple of people were willing to speak on the record about how their companies are being impacted.
Unpredictability around worldwide trade has actually affected customer costs, prepare for reshoring production, and availability of products for automated equipment.“& ldquo; igus wishes to expand U.S.
production, however we’& rsquo; ll need to pay tariffs on imported equipment,” & rdquo; stated Felix Brockmeyer, CEO of igus Inc.
“& ldquo; We have 15 devices we want to bring in, and no one wants to desert the U.S.
market.”“& rdquo; & ldquo; Everybody understands that the U.S.
has to take on China, which develops a big opportunity for automation,” & rdquo; said Robert Little, chief of robotics method at Novanta.Jan Hennecke, company system supervisor for robotics and automation at igus, discussed economical automation at Automate 2025.
Source: The Robot Report10.
Sustainability, labor augmentation are still goalsWhether present federal governments may favor or minimize ecological sustainability, increasing energy effectiveness and minimizing material waste are always priorities for manufacturers and robot providers.
From igus’ & rsquo; efforts to recycle and reuse its movement plastics to an entire topic path at Automate, both regional and worldwide organizations are pursuing sustainability.While a few speakers and exhibitors discussed utilizing automation to change full-time equivalents (FTEs), a lot more spoke about utilizing robotics to enhance and upskill progressively scarce skill in factories and warehouses.For more about Automate 2025, tune in to the latest episode of The Robot Report Podcast and follow our ongoing protection.
We’& rsquo; ll have more interviews to share.The post 10 robotics patterns spotted at Automate 2025 appeared first on The Robot Report.