Automate 2025 convened in Detroit last week. Source: The Robot Report
DETROIT — At the height of trade show season, Automate 2025 provided opportunities to see the state of commercial and industrial automation. From robot arms and mobile platforms to grippers, sensors, and software, as well as educational 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’s team at Automate 2025. Here are 10 trends culled from those meetings, walking the two exhibit halls, and sitting in on sessions.
1. Shows keep growing, despite economic headwinds
With an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 attendees, 850 exhibitors, and numerous sessions, Automate 2025 experienced a 40% increase in registrants since it was last held in Detroit in 2023, according to Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3).
That’s similar to the growth of other trade shows and conferences, including Manifest, Promatand our own Robotics Summit & Expo. In addition, the numerous networking events around these events have also grown, as the people who use, sell, build, and design robots look to connect.
The transition of U.S. automakers to electric and autonomous vehicles has slowed, and there were no vehicle chassis being swung around by large robot arms as in past years (reportedly because robots couldn’t be bolted into the floor).
While recent reports from A3 and Interact Analysis found slowing sales of industrial automation and layoffs over the past year, they and other industry observers such as the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) noted that growth has continued.
The consensus is that the market will improve later this year or early in 2026, depending on geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions (more on that below). Forward-thinking companies are evaluating and adopting technology now to keep their competitive edge.
Automate has certainly grown since it split from being every other year and co-located with ProMat. Next year, it will be in Chicago, and in 2027, the show will move to Las Vegas.
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2. Technology change is incremental
One of the most common questions that Automate attendees and exhibitors asked reporters is, “What did you see that’s new?” There were some new products and incremental improvements this year, but no brand-new form factors or applications.
One of the biggest announcements at this year’s event was Universal Robots’ release of the UR15, its fastest collaborative robot arm yet.
Given A3’s focus and membership, it was no surprise to see lots of vision-guided robot applications, from welding and finishing to assembly. And being in Motor City, there were some interesting demonstrations of new tasks that can now be automated, such as clipping automotive body parts, precisely plugging in wiring harnesses, and handling of smaller and more varied machine parts.
From left: Editor Mike Oitzman, Teradyne’s Ujjwal Kumar, Engelberger Award honoree Stu Shepherd, and editor Eugene Demaitre at Universal Robots’ exhibit in Detroit. Source: The Robot Report
3. Industrial and collaborative robots continue to converge
Cobots — or more properly, force- and power-limited robots — are designed to be lighter, easier to program, and to stop upon contact with obstacles for safety reasons. However, many of the applications they’re used for, such as machine tending, are still caged as a result of necessary workspace and workflow assessments.
Cobots from Universal Robots, ABB, Doosan, FANUC, KUKA, and Techman Robot have become more capable over time, with increasing precision and payload capacities. For instance, Standard Bots this month launched a 30 kg (66.1 lb.) robot arm with collaborative features.
Larger cobots, such as Doig’s Pallet this using D:PLOY with OnRobot, are suitable for tasks such as Palletizing.
CeiliX had one of the more interesting displays, with a robot arm suspended from rails. Its novel feature is that it could move diagonally thanks to a unique gripping system.
On the industrial automation side, companies such as Epson Robots, Sensory Robotics, and SICK are enabling industrial automation to sense when a person enters a certain area and slow down or stop.
Yamaha demonstrated bin picking, while FANUC had a large robot simulating auto body welding. Yaskawa, one of the biggest robotics vendors in the world, was absent from this year’s show.
Speaking of big guns, Kawasaki had arguably the biggest robot arm at the show, moving a large monitor, while ABB robots moved steel plates.
Kawasaki had one of the largest robots at Automate 2025. Source: The Robot Report
4. It’s all about the ecosystem at Automate 2025
Teradyne Robotics, the parent of Universal Robots (UR) and Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), had one of the biggest booths at Automate 2025. Unlike the more crowded displays of, say, ABB or FANUC, it chose to spread out its partner exhibits to reflect its open approach to its ecosystem. UR cobots were also in at least 30 other booths.
This year, nearly every big automation provider showed the breadth of their offerings, with Zebra Technologies incorporating Photoneo’s perception technology and ABB fully integrating ASTI‘s mobile robots.
The global robotics ecosystem was also well-represented at Automate 2025, including showcases by the Pittsburgh Robotics Network and Taiwan Excellencegatherings with Canadian and Danish companies, and large delegations from South Korea and Japan, among other countries.
Techman Robot presents as part of Taiwan Excellence event at Automate 2025. Source: The Robot Report
5. Component providers and integrators still key to adoption
There were plenty of component technologies and integration services to learn about at Automate, including motion control offerings from Harmonic Drive and Elmo Motion Control.
In addition, Sonair debuted its ADAR sensor, which adds 3D ultrasonic perception to lidar and cameras for robot safety. Orbbec showed its Gemini 435Le, which provides improved stereo vision for robots.
Festo showed off new controls, Kübler talked about its new encoder, and Beckhoff offered modular products for cabinet-free automation, among other technology displays.
Hall E, downstairs from the main Halls A through D, featured many smaller and newer robotics companies, such as STAT Actingwhose braking technology promises to make robots lighter, safer, and more energy-efficient.
6. Mobile robots move in a tighter market
With more of a focus on manufacturing than supply chain, it’s not surprising that there were more robot arms, SCARA robots, and delta robots at Automate 2025 than autonomous mobile robot (AMR) providers.
There were still noteworthy AMRs to see, including Mobile Industrial Robots’ larger platforms, Nidec‘s cleaning system, and ATI’s tuggers. TriOrb has developed an omnidirectional platform using three balls instead of wheels.
Several AMR announcements around the show focused on sensing, such as or ABB adding visual SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) to its Flexley Mover robot.
SEER Robotics promised easy integration and management of AMRs with its “Build your own robot fleet within days” theme. Meanwhile, ForwardX demonstrated palletizing, very narrow aisle (VNA), and rack-moving systems, as well as its OmniFleet software.
ForwardX demonstrated AMRs and fleet software at Automate 2025. Source: The Robot Report
7. Mobile manipulators get ahead of humanoid robots
Last year, A3 hosted a panel on humanoid robotics, but this year, Agility Robotics‘ Digit was among the few humanoids on the show floor. Behind high plexiglass walls, Digit showed its ability to take totes from a conveyor belt to an AMR, albeit in a smaller exhibit than Agility’s booth at ProMat.
In the meantime, the number of mobile manipulators has grown, with Teradyne’s MC600 and robots in the booths of RealMan, KUKA, and more. The combination of cobot or light industrial arms with AMRs is available now or in the near future, compared with humanoids, which are likely still years from widespread use.
8. Software, data, and AI seen as robotics enablers
Software providers and integrators have a tough task at trade shows, because their displays typically aren’t as visual as those of complete solution vendors. That said, nearly every exhibitor at Automate 2025 touted the importance of connecting the evolving robotics software stack to enterprise systems, collecting the right data, and using that data for simulation and training AI models.
The chicken explained how its systems can be trained with its “no-code” approach. Included discussed its vision system, which is intended to enable real-time decision making, while Geisel Software announced its Symage synthetic data image generator.
Schneider Electric introduced its industrial “copilot,” which integrates with Microsoft Azure.
“PolyScope X integrates with Teradyne’s AI Accelerator kit developed with NVIDIA to build applications,” noted Jane Heffner, vice president of sales for the Americas at Teradyne Robotics. “Target applications include harsh environments in metals and machinery, adaptable and precise operations in electronics, and high-speed bin picking in logistics.”
Realtime Robotics launched and demonstrated Resolver, a cloud-based system that it said can coordinate multiple robots in a workcell to avoid collision, aid developers, and accelerate cycle times.
Realtime’s Optimization software avoids collisions in multi-robot workcells. Source: Realtime Robotics
9. Tariffs top of mind for many at Automate 2025
The current U.S. administration is still in negotiations with China, Europe, and others about tariffs, so few people were willing to speak on the record about how their businesses are being affected. Uncertainty around global trade has affected consumer spending, plans for reshoring production, and availability of materials for automated equipment.
“igus wants to expand U.S. manufacturing, but we’ll have to pay tariffs on imported equipment,” said Felix Brockmeyer, CEO of igus Inc. “We have 15 machines we want to bring in, and nobody wants to abandon the U.S. market.”
“Everybody knows that the U.S. has to compete with China, and that creates a huge opportunity for automation,” said Robert Little, chief of robotics strategy at Novanta.
Jan Hennecke, business unit manager for robotics and automation at igus, discussed affordable automation at Automate 2025. Source: The Robot Report
10. Sustainability, labor augmentation are still goals
Whether current governments may favor or downplay environmental sustainability, increasing energy efficiency and reducing material waste are always priorities for manufacturers and robot suppliers. From igus’ efforts to recycle and reuse its motion plastics to an entire topic path at Automate, both local and global organizations are pursuing sustainability.
While a few speakers and exhibitors talked about using automation to replace full-time equivalents (FTEs), many more talked about using robotics to augment and upskill increasingly scarce talent in factories and warehouses.
For more about Automate 2025, tune in to the latest episode of The Robot Report Podcast and follow our ongoing coverage. We’ll have more interviews to share.
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