by Gary Mintchell | Jan 9, 2026 | Robots, Technology
I haven’t been to a general technology trade show for years. Going to the manufacturing mecca known as Hannover costs more than I wish to pay for the experience. My company exhibited at the old Comdex in Las Vegas and Chicago back in the late 80s-early 90s. That folded. Consumer Electronic Show (CES) replaced it as the huge tech show. I’ve never been. I’m not interested in TVs.
It’s still more expense and hassle than I wish to pursue to travel to Las Vegas for a huge show. However, more manufacturing technology companies exhibit there. I probably still won’t make the trip the first week of a new year. I do watch for news.
Something I never thought I’d see from CES was news about industrial robotics. This piece is a collaboration with Universal Robots, Robotiq, and Siemens. One trend is growing collaboration among companies. Another is digital twin or what once was called “cyber-physical systems.”
Universal Robots (UR), part of Teradyne Robotics, and Robotiq have unveiled a robotic palletizing solution at CES 2026 in collaboration with Siemens. The joint demonstration in Las Vegas highlights how advanced robotics and digital twin technology can accelerate industrial transformation for manufacturers worldwide.
The solution combines Robotiq’s PAL Ready palletizing cell with Universal Robots’ UR20 robot arm, integrated into Siemens’ automation hardware and new Digital Twin Composer software – launched at the event. Visitors to the Siemens booth #8725 in the LVCC North Hall will experience a digital-meets-physical showcase, where a fully simulated palletizing cell is rendered photo-realistically in real time and paired with a live hardware demonstration.
Designed to support a company’s operational needs, the system palletizes boxes of chips and beverages, leveraging digital twin analytics to optimize gripper performance and suction points dynamically. With data captured using Siemens’ Industrial Edge hardware, and then streamed to Siemens’ Insights Hub Copilot , the demonstrator provides real-time insights into cell behavior, reinforcing the theme of ‘digital AI meets physical AI’ and presents it in a real-time photorealistic environment built using Siemens’ new Digital Twin Composer software.
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by Gary Mintchell | Jan 8, 2026 | Automation, Software
I’m catching up on some pre-holiday news. Companies have been developing custom packages to (hopefully) make things easier for customers to know what to purchase and apply. This is a unique little package. Siemens is offering a starter pack for small and medium sized businesses in order to “enhance operational efficiency.”
The Siemens prelude and justification, “With the U.S. industrial sector projected to face 1.9 million unfilled jobs by 2032, according to Deloitte, and equipment failures causing up to 20% production losses, SMBs are under pressure from workforce shortages, costly downtime, rising operating costs, supply chain disruptions and the complexities of adopting Industry 4.0 technologies.”
“Small- and medium-sized manufacturers are the backbone of our economy and they are dealing with a different set of challenges compared to enterprise-scale manufacturers,” said Chris Stevens, president, Siemens Digital Industries, U.S. “Among these are transparency to performance, workforce readiness, technology integration, cybersecurity, and productivity.”
The offer
For SMB manufacturers navigating today’s complex production landscape, the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio offers a transformative solution. Its open digital business platform provides solution-as-a-service — and includes the innovative new SMB Production Optimization Starter Pack manufacturing software, which includes the Siemens Industrial Edge Management Cloud and Industrial Edge Virtual Device. These cybersecure tools empower end users to pay for what they need and scale at their own pace.
Siemens has made this digital transformation journey accessible through a three-month free trial, followed by an affordable annual subscription. This comprehensive package includes technical support, self-paced training, and the invaluable expertise of Siemens’ robust network of trusted partners across the U.S.
Siemens’ partners, including PROLIM, are instrumental in delivering the SMB Production Optimization Starter Pack to market, providing localized support, hands-on implementation assistance, and tailored guidance to ensure a truly seamless and supported digital transformation.
Typical of software press releases, here is the use case using cool generic terms. But I still think it’s a good idea.
The SMB Production Optimization Starter Pack provides real-time insights and flexible dashboards and reporting, empowering manufacturers to evolve from reactive problem-solving to proactive operational excellence. This integrated, modular solution is agile, flexible and scalable, and is designed for easy implementation without specialized IT skills or complex infrastructure changes.
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by Gary Mintchell | Jan 7, 2026 | Automation
When the folks at 37signals released a new email client in 2020, I jumped on it. I love HEY. An added bonus is a client for sending email newsletters. You can find mine here.
I’ve been involved with electronics most of my life. Gadgets. Tools. Ways to make things better. My involvement with automation taught me that not all automation (as in all technology) is beneficial. Sometimes we get way to smart for our own good.
37signals co-founder and CEO Jason Fried recently wrote about a house he rented for his parents while they stayed in his town for a bit.
Not a good experience
My folks are in town visiting us for a couple months so we rented them a house nearby.
It’s new construction. No one has lived in it yet. It’s amped up with state of the art systems. You know, the ones with touchscreens of various sizes, IoT appliances, and interfaces that try too hard.
Did they love all this state-of-the-art?
And it’s terrible. What a regression.
When you want light, you flip a switch. Easy.
The lights are powered by Control4. And require a demo to understand how to use the switches, understand which ones control what, and to be sure not to hit THAT ONE because it’ll turn off all the lights in the house when you didn’t mean to. Worse.
This one takes the prize for idiot-of-the-year.
The Miele dishwasher is hidden flush with the counters. That part is fine, but here’s what isn’t: It wouldn’t even operate the first time without connecting it with an app. This meant another call to the house manager to have them install an app they didn’t know they needed either. An app to clean some peanut butter off a plate? For serious? Worse.
Setting the temperature? Should be easy.
Thermostats… Nest would have been an upgrade, but these other propriety ones from some other company trying to be nest-like are baffling. Round touchscreens that take you into a dark labyrinth of options just to be sure it’s set at 68. Or is it 68 now? Or is that what we want it at, but it’s at 72? Wait… What? Which number is this? Worse.
Compared to his experience on vacation:
It’s really the contrast that makes it alarming. We just got back from a vacation in Montana. Rented a house there. They did have a fancy TV — seems those can’t be avoided these days — but everything else was old school and clear. Physical up/down light switches in the right places. Appliances without the internet. Buttons with depth and physically-confirmed state change rather than surfaces that don’t obviously register your choice. More traditional round rotating Honeywell thermostats that are just clear and obvious. No tours, no instructions, no questions, no fearing you’re going to do something wrong, no wondering how something works. Useful and universally clear. That’s human that’s modern.
If you are designing automated anything—consider these experiences. Make the thing human friendly.
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by Gary Mintchell | Jan 5, 2026 | Industrial Computers, Networking, Technology, Wireless
I have shunned new year predictions for the entire time I’ve been writing about technology and manufacturing. As has been said (attributed to physicist Niels Bohr and philosopher Yogi Berra), predictions are hard, especially about the future.
Usually these reflect either wishful thinking about the future or recognition of trends that may play out.
Marketing guru Seth Godin noted, “The Paradox of ‘On Trend’—By the time you get around to embracing the fashion of the moment, it’s almost certainly too late. The leading edge is defined by the fact that most of us aren’t on it.”
However, I have chosen to highlight two sets of predictions that came my way late last year. One is from Larry O’Connor, Founder and CEO, Other World Computing (OWC); the other from Michael Weller, Practice Leader for Manufacturing, Energy and Utilities at Verizon Business.
OWC makes high performance compute and networking equipment mostly targeted to markets not ours. The Verizon release was a bit surprising. I do think about networks. Usually not from the major carriers.
Their thoughts and my thoughts. Enjoy.
I looked at these OWC compute predictions mostly because I think that these have been happening. I don’t know to what degree adoption will occur, but it will be interesting.
2026 Prediction 1: On-Prem Comes Back, Not as a Rebellion Against Cloud, but as the Sensible Default for Performance, Cost, and Control.
“In 2026, more teams are going to rediscover the joy of having their data and workflows close to where the work actually happens. Not because the cloud is bad. The cloud is a great tool. It is just not the right answer for everything, especially when you are talking about performance, predictable costs, and keeping control of your own data.
It is easy to move a workflow up into the cloud, and then you wake up one day and realize you are paying for every little thing, and you are also at the mercy of a lot of services you cannot fix or influence. If your internet is flaky, or the provider has an outage, or you get hit with egress costs at the exact moment you need your data, that is not a strategy. That is a hope. In 2026, the smart shops will keep cloud as redundancy and reach, but they will rebuild the core on-prem so they can get their job done with less drama.”
I saw this play out last year by the company called 37 Signals. They looked at their monthly bills and decided their was a better way.
2026 Prediction 2: The Real Differentiator Will Be ‘Boring’ Infrastructure: High Performance Tech That Disappears into the Workflow.
“I think 2026 is the year more people stop buying ‘fancy numbers’ and start buying results. Everybody can show a chart. Everybody can promise the sky. But in the real world, what matters is whether the product is low overhead, dependable, and actually makes your day easier. The best compliment we can get is that someone forgets we are there, because they are too busy getting real work done.
More buyers are going to get tired of the enterprise pattern where you buy the thing, and then you learn you need ten other modules, another server, and a pile of add-ons to get what you thought you already purchased. That is not delight. That is aggravation. In 2026, the winners are going to be the companies that show up, evaluate the environment honestly, and deliver what the customer actually needs, with the least amount of fuss. Under promise. Over deliver. And make it work in the real workflow, not just in a lab.”
The real question—when will the big AI players realize this.
2026 Prediction 3: AI Becomes a Creative Partner – but the Creativity Remains Human.
“AI finally settles into its proper role for creatives, in 2026. It stops trying to be the artist and starts becoming the best assistant a cinematographer, editor, or photographer has ever had. The true creative spark still lives with the human, not in the machine. You can’t automate taste, timing, instinct, and storytelling. What AI can do is clear the runway so creators can spend more time making decisions that actually matter.
Those that rethink where AI lives in the workflow will be the teams that get this right. Instead of pushing raw footage and unreleased work into distant clouds, they will bring AI closer to the media and closer to the creator. When AI runs next to your storage, things happen at the speed of thought. You can test an idea, throw it away, try another, and never break your flow. That immediacy changes how people create. In 2026, the most successful creative teams will not be the ones chasing the biggest models. They will be the ones who build infrastructure that keeps humans in control, keeps their content private, and lets AI quietly do the heavy lifting in the background while the creativity stays exactly where it belongs.”
I think AI and AgenticAI have been way over-hyped. On the one hand, AI has been embedded in much technology we already use. Industrial companies are embedding Microsoft Copilot. We’ll see continued searching for ways to use it as a tool to help workers do a better job.
Where I pick at OWC’s comments a little, I think Michael Weller is a bit optimistic. Check his thoughts. As I just wrote above about AI, don’t buy the hype.
AI moves from paralysis to production: “Many manufacturers are worried about AI, and uncertain where to put compute power. Next year brings breakthrough deployments focused on computer vision for quality control and AI ‘shells’ that wrap legacy systems in protective security layers. This finally moving innovation ‘out of the drawer.'”
He should say that manufacturing executives are worried about AI. The hype has consumed so much media space, that they feel they must tell the board they’re working on it.
Factories will embrace visual technology in a larger way: “Manufacturing floors will become highly visual environments, driven by computer vision, digital twins, AR/VR headsets, and gamification. Humans learn visually far more effectively than through text, and visual content. From just-in-time training videos to 3D schematics, visual environments will transform worker engagement and productivity.”
I’m not with him here. I’ve tried out the headsets for 10 years. There are selected places (training?) where there is a bona fide use case. If Zuckerberg is dropping the metaverse from Meta, I’d take a hint.
Connected worker technologies will deliver on their promise: “After years of hype, 2026 is when connected worker technologies prove their value on the factory floor. Wireless-enabled tools – especially mobile equipment – finally deliver on promises of improved safety, real-time asset tracking, and operational flexibility. Manufacturers are realizing they can modernize without extensive infrastructure overhauls.”
This is the one I expected from Verizon. We’ve been through the 5G hype. Not sure what wireless he’s promoting, but actually workers have had mobile tools for a decade. And, I expect to see evolving applications.
Increased importance of wireless tech as a sustainability achievement: “Beyond operational benefits, eliminating copper cabling and reducing network power consumption represents measurable environmental progress they can actually quantify. The math is compelling: a single cellular antenna can displace 3-10 Wi-Fi access points, significantly reducing energy needs across large facilities.”
Cellular in place of WiFi? The jury is still out.
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by Gary Mintchell | Dec 23, 2025 | Business, Generative AI, News, Technology
I wonder how many technology firms with headquarters in the US consider themselves American and how many think (thought?) they are global.
Before MAGA, these were global companies by my observation. Suddenly it dawned on many that there is actually another country vs country competition striving for first place.
Now, everyone not technical, and some who are, is panicking about AI. There are many unknowns and much hype. The current administration sees the competition looking to put some financial and public muscle behind further developments in AI—especially using AI to benefit scientific research and manufacturing.
I am currently digesting the Genesis Mission under the Dept. of Energy announced last week. Today’s news concerns AI both for manufacturing and cybersecurity for critical infrastructure from the Dept of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has expanded its collaboration with the nonprofit MITRE Corporation as part of its efforts to ensure U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence (AI). Through this award, NIST is investing $20 million to establish two centers to advance the delivery of AI-based technology solutions to strengthen U.S. manufacturing and cybersecurity for critical infrastructure.
“This investment will help accelerate the application of AI in American manufacturing and help drive the American manufacturing renaissance,” said Deputy Secretary of Commerce Paul Dabbar. “We can harness AI to increase the competitiveness of our manufacturers and attract investment in America.”
The award is an important step in implementing NIST’s Strategy for American Technology Leadership in the 21st Century to accelerate the progress of critical and emerging technologies from development to adoption, in close partnership with U.S. industry.
“Our goal is to remove barriers to American AI innovation and accelerate the application of our AI technologies around the world,” said Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Acting NIST Director Craig Burkhardt. “This new agreement with MITRE will focus on enhancing the ability of U.S. companies to make high-value products more efficiently, meet market demands domestically and internationally, and catalyze discovery and commercialization of new technologies and devices.”
The AI Economic Security Center for U.S. Manufacturing Productivity and the AI Economic Security Center to Secure U.S. Critical Infrastructure from Cyberthreats will drive the development and adoption of AI-driven tools, or “agents,” in these two national priority areas. The centers will develop the technology evaluations and advancements that are necessary to effectively protect U.S. dominance in AI innovation, address threats from adversaries’ use of AI, and reduce risks from reliance on insecure AI.
NIST will rely on existing resources to build on its expertise and carry forward recommendations in the White House’s July 2025 America’s AI Action Plan, including Pillar I: Accelerate AI Innovation and Pillar II: Build American AI Infrastructure.
These are important first steps in NIST’s programmatic plan to coordinate innovation-based research efforts for accelerating the development and deployment of critical technologies in areas of national priority. Building on its long history of public-private collaboration, NIST plans to use adaptive and flexible partnerships to develop, pilot and implement new advances to establish U.S. leadership and innovation in critical and emerging technologies such as AI, quantum information science and technology, and biotechnology.
The partnership will leverage MITRE’s long-standing mission to operate federally funded research and development centers. NIST expects the AI centers to enable breakthroughs in applied science and advanced technology and deliver disruptive innovative solutions to tackle the most pressing challenges facing the nation.
This agreement expands NIST’s portfolio of AI-focused programs and builds on the private-public partnerships leveraged by the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), which leads evaluations of U.S. and adversary systems and contributes to NIST’s efforts to develop best practices. CAISI has established voluntary agreements with multiple developers of leading-edge or “frontier” AI models to enable collaborative research and voluntary testing of industry models for priority national security capabilities.
In the coming months, NIST plans to announce its award for the AI for Resilient Manufacturing Institute, through the Manufacturing USA program. With up to $70 million in investment over a five-year period from NIST and at least that much in nonfederal funding, the institute will bring together expertise in AI, manufacturing and supply chain networks to promote manufacturing resilience.
Combined, these efforts will enhance NIST’s core research, standards and technology mission to tackle barriers preventing U.S. innovation and leadership in AI.
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by Gary Mintchell | Dec 22, 2025 | Business, Robots
Upfront, I’ll admit that I hate how everything has moved to a subscription model. I use few Microsoft products (Word for reading press releases and my monthly column to Italy, Excel for occasional tracking, Powerpoint almost never), yet I must pay an annual subscription. I dropped Adobe everything except for reader. Just don’t use it enough.
This news release regarding another survey of “US business leaders” points to the perennial financial debate within enterprises—which is better on the income statement and balance sheet, capital expenditure or expensing the expenditure?
The survey was commissioned by RobCo. The findings come from the RobCo Automation Readiness Index, a survey of 400 US business leaders in sectors including manufacturing, construction, engineering, and healthcare, conducted by Sapio Research. The data show US companies accelerating automation of back-office and production processes to boost output, secure supply chains, and support a renewed push for domestic manufacturing.
Summary of results:
- 95% of US industrial businesses plan to introduce new automation within the next three years
- Federal incentives and reshoring are accelerating factory automation plans
- Companies are turning to automation to fill labor gaps and improve job quality
- High upfront costs and skills shortages are pushing demand for leasing and robots-as-a-service
Oh, by the way, RobCo provides “Robots as a Service” or RaaS. That would be a type of subscription model.
While only one-third of companies said they were currently using robots, more than half (54%) are testing or planning to use them, indicating that robotics will likely play a major role in America’s new wave of automation.
Most companies said that new federal incentives to boost manufacturing, including new grants and tax incentives, were among the influences behind the drive to adopt the technology (73%), with 61% saying that onshoring or reshoring of production was a factor driving their automation plans.
Similar to the evolving conversation about AI where people are realizing that it can be a tool to enhance the work of humans, the survey found something we’ve known for 20 or more years—robots replace humans for “dull, dirty, dangerous” tasks.
Robots are taking on repetitive and dangerous tasks, freeing employees for higher-value work. Research shows growing acceptance: 58% of employees and 55% of unions are positive about automation. Companies are already seeing results, with 43% reporting lighter workloads, higher productivity, and improved morale.
Driving adoption are clear human-focused goals: boosting satisfaction (42%), addressing staff shortages (37%), reducing errors (49%), and cutting time on repetitive tasks (47%). Even non-automated sectors see potential gains in efficiency and reduced reliance on skilled labor. The message is clear: automation empowers people, rather than replaces them. But obstacles remain as funding models are outdated.
Almost half (48%) say that high initial investment is holding them back, with traditional funding models requiring high investment in physical robotics assets and third-party vendors for integration and maintenance.
Findings reinforce RobCo’s business model:
The findings point to a clear shift away from large, one-off capital projects toward subscription-style models like RobCo’s robots-as-a-service offering.
If you are like me and never heard of the company, following summarizes their history and mission.
Founded in 2020 out of the Technical University of Munich, RobCo is on a mission to make industrial automation more accessible, affordable, and adaptable. Its patented modular hardware kit, combined with the RobCo Studio no-code software platform, allows industrial companies of all sizes to automate repetitive and dangerous tasks quickly and with unmatched flexibility. Whether it’s machine tending, palletizing, dispensing, or welding, RobCo’s modular robot kits provide versatile end-to-end solutions that are simple to deploy and manage remotely – without heavy upfront investment or specialist expertise. With offices in Munich and San Francisco and robots already in operation worldwide, RobCo is supercharging a new generation of industrial companies to reduce costs, boost productivity, and compete on a global stage.
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