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 | 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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by Gary Mintchell | Dec 15, 2025 | Business, News, Robots
Zebra Technologies winding down Fetch-based mobile robot group news from the Robot Report. Steve Crowe writes in the news item, “Zebra Technologies is winding down its autonomous mobile robot (AMR) division. The group was built around Zebra’s $290 million acquisition of AMR maker Fetch Robotics in 2021. The move marks a strategic retreat from the robotics push Zebra launched to expand its warehouse automation capabilities.”
I can’t find news on Zebra’s site, and they haven’t sent anything to me, but Crowe continues, “It’s unclear exactly how this story will end. According to multiple sources, Zebra is looking to sell its robotics division or ultimately shut it down. According to the sources, most of the robotics staff will be let go by the end of 2025. About 25% of the staff will stay on until March 2026 to manage current deployments. Multiple former employees of Zebra’s AMR group posted yesterday on LinkedIn that they are looking for new roles.”
Rockwell Automation hosted its annual Automation Fair last month. The head of the robotics unit, and former AMR technologist, spoke to us. Between his presentation and that of the upgrades to Rockwell’s own manufacturing, it looks as if they are making strides at integrating these products into their overall solution package. The tech may not fit everyone’s strategic portfolio.
Ash Sharma, VP of research at market intelligence company Interact Analysis sent these comments about the market. They are pretty accurate.
- “Fetch was acquired at the peak of the AMR hype cycle for nearly 30 times its annual revenue, despite likely operating at a loss. Other companies adopted similar strategies, paying exceptionally high valuations to secure a share of this fast-growing sector. For example, ABB Robotics acquired Spanish firm ASTI, and Teradyne purchased Mobile Industrial Robots. All three have faced challenges integrating and scaling these startups, leading to divestments or significant reductions in investment.
- “Although the AMR industry now exceeds $4 billion annually and continues to grow at a double-digit rate, a common misconception is that it represents a single addressable market for any vendor. In reality, the industry comprises multiple segments, each requiring specific AMR form factors tailored to distinct workflows. The segment targeted by Zebra through Fetch’s technology was worth only a few hundred million dollars.
- “Another misconception is that Western markets dominate AMR adoption. In fact, China manufactures and installs more than half of all AMRs worldwide.
- “The greatest challenge lies in scaling AMR operations. Five years ago, most AMRs were sold to small organisations purchasing only a handful of robots. This fragmented customer base made scaling difficult for companies lacking broad distribution and sales networks. Mobile Industrial Robots grew rapidly during this period. However, the market has since evolved. While small customers remain, most AMR volume now comes from major retailers and 3PLs, which deploy hundreds of robots per site and thousands across networks. Their requirements and procurement processes differ significantly from early adopters, demanding a fundamentally different approach to achieve scale.”
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 15, 2025 | Robots, Sensors, Technology
This news came to me touted as an industry first. Actually, I’ve already written about a similar application. That does not denigrate the accomplishment. It only speaks to marketing. AI has been a part of vision systems as long as I can remember. AI as an automation tool continues to become more powerful and useful. Just go past hype, as I’ve written before, and look at the usefulness (or hype).
My first brush with vision systems was long ago. I told prospects that if we could fixture the part, we could check it. Speed and precision in cameras and processors continually improved. Now we have a further advance—flexible and low-cost bin picking for unstructured environments, achieving 95% success rates and sub-1-second pick cycles in live automotive production.
Inbolt announced the launch of its next-generation bin picking solution designed to bring human-like adaptability to industrial robotics. Built for fully unstructured environments, this breakthrough enables robots to identify, grasp, and place parts with unmatched flexibility and accuracy, even when objects are randomly positioned or partially hidden.
Using a 3D camera mounted directly on the robot arm, powered by Inbolt’s proprietary AI, the robot continuously perceives, understands, and adapts in real time. The AI delivers an infinite number of grasp strategies, removing the need for a perfect grasp. This provides a faster, cheaper, and more flexible solution that achieves less than 1 second per pick and up to 95% success rates in live manufacturing production.
How the solution operates inspired by human behavior.
- Pick like a human — The robot identifies any pickable side, just like a human.
- See in hand — Once the object is gripped, the robot analyzes and locates it.
- Adjust to place — During motion, the AI continuously refines the robot’s trajectory for accurate placement, a capability known as in-hand localization.
Key benefits include:
- Flexibility: Works with bins of any size or position, even if they move during operation.
- Speed: Average processing time per pick under 1 second.
- Reliability: Up to 95% successful pick rates in production environments.
- Affordability: One camera per robot, not per bin, and no need for complex overhead installations.
- Scalability: Fast integration across multiple stations or factories.
- Production-proven across plants
The system runs on NVIDIA’s hardware platform and leverages Inbolt’s proprietary AI robot guidance models, which enable real-time pose estimation and continuous trajectory correction. This unique architecture minimizes computational load while maximizing robustness, ensuring consistent performance across different use cases and part geometries.
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 12, 2025 | Robots
I recently wrote about a company that designed its own “stack” of its robot plus an autonomous mobile robot. Stack must be a new trend. I have written about Flexxbotics a few time over the past three years. The company features several several current and former executives from Aras plus other PLM suppliers as investors and/or board members. It features cutting edge software technology.
This news is a partnership with many interesting possibilities for advanced machine tending.
Flexxbotics and IPR Robotics Partner to Deliver StackTrax for Advanced Robotic Machine Tending with Dual-Rail 7th Axis Mobility and Autonomous Process Control
Flexxbotics, delivering digital solutions for robot-driven manufacturing at scale, and IPR Robotics, a global leader in robot peripherals, today announced a partnership to deliver IPR’s innovative StackTrax dual-rail robotic transfer unit (RTU) as an option with the Flexxbotics solution. Now, the robot’s effective reach is further extended across multi-machine rows with Flexxbotics orchestrating advanced robotic machine tending autonomy for lights out operation.
With Flexxbotics robot-to-machine compatibility for over 1000 makes & models of factory equipment and StackTrax 7th axis multidirectional robotic tending motion, companies can quickly automate a wide range of machines for processes with multiple operations. The partnership’s design collaboration also resulted in a new level of standardization for greater maintainability and operational safety.
- Extended Reach, Smaller Footprint – StackTrax dual-rail motion lets one robot reach multiple machines along a line without the large footprint of full gantries.
- Machine-to-Robot Interfacing at Scale – Flexxbotics multi-machine compatibility accelerate commissioning and standardize integration across automation cells and sites.
- Automated Changeover – Coordinated program loading for machines, robot, and StackTrax motion enables automation of high-mix part/job changeover.
- Autonomous Process Control – Flexxbotics communicates with the robot, machines, and StackTrax providing control logic and macro updates for longer unattended runs.
- Digital Thread Compliance – Full traceability of robot & rail actions, part production, and process adjustments supports audits and regulated environments.
Suggested application guide:
Using StackTrax with Flexxbotics is ideal for new factories and plant modernization initiatives where gantry systems and H-gantries are impractical due to space, structural or ceiling constraints. Additionally, advanced robotic machine tending of multiple machines in a line for high-mix production environments that involve changeovers across families of parts and where robot flexibility, reach, and travel distance matter.
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by Gary Mintchell | Dec 10, 2025 | Business, Robots
Not long after news from another automation supplier about an investment in manufacturing in the US, here comes news from Teradyne Robotics about an investment in suburban Detroit. I’m sure it’s beneficial for Teradyne both for saving shipping costs (we won’t mention the T word) and also for improving customer service. The products to be manufactured here were designed and built in Denmark.
Perhaps this indicates some resurgence in American manufacturing? I hope so.
Teradyne Robotics announced it will open a new U.S. Operations Hub in Wixom, Metro Detroit, Michigan in 2026. This strategic expansion reflects Teradyne Robotics’ commitment to operating close to its customers and meeting the growing manufacturing demand in the U.S. and the Americas.
The new facility will manufacture Universal Robots (UR) industrial collaborative robots (cobots), with future potential to include MiR autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). It will also serve as a regional customer training center, service hub, and visitor experience center.
The new U.S. Operations Hub will support the re-industrialization of America with advanced robotics. The company seeks to support the evolving needs of American industry, including productivity, reshoring, upskilling, and increased automation to address workforce challenges and enhance global competitiveness.
This facility expands Teradyne Robotics’ presence in the Detroit area, creating over 200 jobs over the coming years and an all-new robotics technology hub supporting advanced manufacturing in Michigan, the Midwest, and throughout America.
A recent survey shows that 73% of North American manufacturers cite productivity improvement as their top reason for investing in automation. Of the companies already using cobots, the vast majority (87%) are already seeing double-digit productivity improvements. Eighty-three per cent of all respondents reported positive employee sentiment towards robotics adoption.
I’ll be writing about a report from a survey indicating that executives anticipate spending on automation next year in order to improve operations. This gives Teradyne a jump on the market.
