Few trade show/conferences exist in our market anymore. I attend only a few of them. I will be at Automate at Chicago’s McCormick Place next month. If you’d like to meet for a coffee and chat while I’m there, send me a note.
I will see Keegan (didn’t get the proper spelling). I walk into a Starbucks in Elgin, IL Thursday for my doppio espresso with cinnamon and spot a guy wearing a Cognex shirt. Turns out he works for them and will be at Automate. They have lots of new products to show, he told me. Stop by and say hi (not a paid announcement).
As an aside, Get used to the term “physical AI” replacing the old term “robotics.” I’m hearing that often.
The first thing Burnstein promoted for the show was humanoid robots. Check out the pavilion and forum that Nvidia sponsoring. A3 have an annual conference on humanoids. There will be much to discuss.
I asked about application. I talked with the general manager of a company division designing and building humanoids. I asked him why. His reply, “These are build for bench assembly tasks, and existing benches are designed for humans. Rather than rebuild an assembly station, just buy a robot built to human dimensions.
Back to Burnstein, “Companies are putting the technology out there hoping for customers to find applications.” I may have written recently this idea concerning the AI LLM product mindset—instead of searching for a customer need and designing a solution, we produce a solution and hope that customers will discover applications. I’m interested in pursuing these inquiries during my time at the show.
Burnstein further commented, “AI is moving more rapidly than we expected.”
He told me that A3, the organization, is doing a lot with government, testifying before Congress and working with agencies. Undersecretary of Dept. Of Commerce will be speaking at Automate. They are pushing for a government central strategy for development and application of robots, to incentivize adoption. This should be a national priority since right now China dwarfs us in the manufacture and application of robots. Further, government also as a major user, lots of applications. Part of the personal initiatives is sales. Government can also stimulate companies to build robots here.
Why the push on robots? Major shortage of workers. Burnstein told me currently the number is 438K. Analysts state the shortage could be 1.38M by 2033.
A3 encourages government to invest in university and private research. This was an interesting comment given I’d just read a blog post by Kevin Meyer regarding the current administration efforts to cut such funding.
He concluded with a request for people to accelerate robotic safety standards for humanoids.
Automate 2026 At-a-Glance
North America’s largest robotics and automation event
June 22-25 at McCormick Place, Chicago, IL
Free to the public (ages 12 and up)
50,000+ attendees, 1,000 exhibitors, 450,000 sq. ft. show floor
Automate brings together automation professionals from around the world to explore the latest technologies in robotics, artificial intelligence, machine vision, motion control, and industrial automation.
For more information and to register for Automate 2026, visit automateshow.com.
Facts about A3:
For more than five decades, the Robotic Industries Association (RIA), AIA-Advancing Vision + Imaging (AIA), and the Motion Control and Motors Association (MCMA), along with A3 Mexico, have played a key role in helping automation technologies become among the most critical tools of the 21st Century. As these technologies have converged, our association has had a convergence of its own. We are now the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), one trade group for the entire automation ecosystem.
Here’s a chance to meet me and share your thoughts about what I should really be writing about. Plus getting the latest updates from Inductive Automation and its partners.
The Ignition Community Conference, ICC2026, will be held again in Sacramento September 22-24. Tickets are now available. See you there.
I am seldom invited to these things anymore. At least the automation ones. More on the software and IT side lately. But news came with advanced information from Yokogawa.
Building on the tremendous success of YNOW2024: Impact Your World in Houston, YNOW2026 will bring together hundreds of industry leaders, visionaries, and innovators as we continue shaping the future of industrial automation, digital transformation, and sustainability.
Over three transformational days, attendees will discover bold ideas, practical solutions, and visionary strategies designed to accelerate their digital journey. From expert-led sessions to valuable networking opportunities, YNOW is more than a conference, it is where the next chapter of industry innovation begins.
Registration will open in early 2026. In the meantime, customers and partners can join our Early Access List to be the first to receive event updates and announcements.
We look forward to welcoming you to New Orleans in 2026 for another inspiring YNOW experience.
“This is my eighth ICC, and this is by far the best.” I asked a customer this morning how he was enjoying this year’s edition of the annual Inductive Automation Ignition Community Conference.
I concur completely (although I’ve attended more than eight). The Harris Center in Folsom had long since proved to be too small to house the community’s growth. Executives agreed to move the venue to the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento. They planned for doubling the size from 800 to 1,600, but the organizers told me that doing this the first time encompassed so many unknowns that they couldn’t breathe easily until half-way through the first day. This one reminded me of the automation company user groups I once attended.
I’m writing this in the hallway. The energy from conversations certainly keeps my energy up.
Part of the attraction this year emanates from the ability to house more breakout sessions. New also this year are Walker Reynold’s Prove It! Sessions. I sat in one with HighByte where the task is to prove to the audience that their solution really works.
Colby Clegg and Carl Gould ICC 2025
It helps when company executives have something good to say. And CEO Colby Clegg and CTO Carl Gould certainly rocked the conference with the huge advances in the latest Ignition Release—8.3.
The original vision I heard some 23 years ago focused on building an HMI/SCADA using IT-friendly technology from the ground up. Oh, and coming from a background as an integrator for another software company, the second focus concerned the pricing model designed to make the software more affordable and pricing more transparent.
Reading through just the bullet points I have below shows how far “IT-friendly” has come. The foundation for Ignition ties even more deeply into technologies familiar to all IT developers. With the hit of the show saved for previews of coming attractions when Colby and Carl announced coming in a few months—Model Context Protocol (MCP), thought of like an API for Agentic AI. MCP is so new and powerful that Inductive Automation may be beating IT developers to the game.
Inductive Automation Releases Ignition 8.3
Ignition 8.3 is such a comprehensive update that I’m surprised that it isn’t 9.0. Inductive says it provides tools for building solutions in SCADA, IIoT, MES, HMI, and more. It’s so much more that if I were an analyst paid $50,000 to do things like this, I’d give the category a new name.
This update (actually a significant technology foundation update) to Ignition 8.3 delivers major advancements in data processing efficiency, security, management, and development speed in order to elevate operational technology (OT) to modern IT standards and meet the speed and scalability needs of modern enterprises. These updates continue in the vision of the founder I first heard 22 years ago about developing OT software with the latest IT-friendly technology.
“Ignition has disrupted the industry and defined a new paradigm in industrial enterprise integration. With Version 8.3, we have completed our long-standing vision to create the world’s most powerful, most open, and most flexible application development platform,” says Colby Clegg, CEO of Inductive Automation and co-creator of Ignition.
Key Ignition 8.3 features include:
The new Industrial Historian Solution Suite, which includes the Historian Core Module, the SQL Historian Module, and a new Historian API for custom historian implementations.
The new Event Streams Module, which enables mapping and directing of event-driven data by creating a communication pipeline between various sources (such as tag changes or Kafka topics) and handlers (like scripts or database tables).
Perspective Module improvements, including a new Drawing Editor with native vector illustration tools, a form generator, and an offline mode for data entry and storage.
The redesigned Ignition Gateway, featuring a faster, more powerful web interface, integrated search capabilities, enhanced customization and visual organization, and consolidated configuration and diagnostic tools.
Next-level security that aligns with modern IT standards, including a new Secrets Management system, and Google Protobuf for faster, more secure communication between clients and gateways.
Long-Term Support (LTS), receiving regular updates and enhancements through the next five years.
Ignition 8.3 also features enhanced store-and-forward capabilities, improved enterprise deployment management, built-in REST API, new Gateway deployment mode, version control and collaboration with Git, simplified containerization, and much more.
Ignition Solution Suites, which include collections of Ignition modules and optional support plans that provide Upgrade Protection. Ignition Solution Suites simplify the Ignition purchasing process so that users can buy and deploy the precise solution they need more quickly. Five Solution Suites are currently available, and they align Ignition’s capabilities with common industrial use cases: The Application Building Suite, The Industrial Historian Suite, The DataOps Operations Suite, The Alarm Management Suite, and The Enterprise Integration Suite.
Every year the company recognizes significant and unique applications developed with Ignition. This year the company also recognized outstanding efforts in educating students about industrial automation with the Educational Engagement Firebrand Award, and honored contributions to the Ignition user community with the Community Impact Firebrand Award.
2025 Ignition Firebrand Award Winners:
Concera (End user: Sibanye-Stillwater)
Insight Engineering (End user: Haymes Paint)
SAGE Group (End user: Sydney Airport Corporation)
ASE Global
National Renewable Energy Lab
2025 Community Impact Firebrand Award Winner: Nick Minchin, Senior System Engineer at SAGE Automation, who dedicated much time to answering questions and helping people on the Ignition Forums.
2025 Educational Engagement Firebrand Award Winner: HebronSoft / Hebron IT Academy. These students from the Ukraine developed a process of custom fabricating prosthetic hands for soldiers who lost limbs in the war.
I missed the last industry conference. There are several interviews in queue for me to finish writing and a couple of interviews pending. But here is one conference I will be attending. If you are in Boston April 1-2, let me know. Aras invited me to their conference last year. The speakers and interviews taught me much about what’s important and coming in the world of manufacturing software. I expect no less this year.
And, yes, if you are in Boston those days, let me know. Perhaps an early coffee or something else later?
The event will Feature Presentations from Honda, CERN, Microsoft and Other Industry Leaders
Following is an overview of the event from Aras.
Aras, a leader in product lifecycle management (PLM) and digital thread solutions, has announced that the agenda for ACE 2025 is now live. The event, taking place March 31 – April 3, 2025 at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza, will bring together global leaders in engineering, manufacturing, and digital transformation under the theme: Connected Intelligence: AI, PLM, and a Future-Ready Digital Thread.
2025 marks a major milestone as Aras celebrates 25 years of continuous innovation while looking ahead to AI-driven PLM, advanced digital thread strategies, and scalable transformation initiatives. ACE 2025 will explore how today’s industry pioneers are establishing seamless digital threads across the entire lifecycle to enhance resilience, efficiency, and long-term competitiveness.
A key focus of this year’s event is the impact of connected intelligence on manufacturing and engineering—and how companies can unlock its full potential to drive measurable value. Attendees will gain access to expert insights, real-world applications, and actionable strategies designed to accelerate their digital transformation and optimize PLM processes.
A few of the featured speakers:
Honda’s Tomoya Isome, Manager, Chief Engineer and Nobuyuki Akahoshi, Chief Engineer, will share how they’re leveraging Aras Innovator to revolutionize data management for 22,000 users.
CERN’s David Widegren, Head of Engineering Information Management, will detail the challenges of managing the full lifecycle of some of the largest and most complex machines ever built.
Gartner Vice President Analyst Sudip Pattanayak will explore why digital threads are more critical than ever for seamless connectivity and collaboration in today’s complex industries, sharing strategies to tackle fragmented data, privacy concerns, and scalability challenges.
“ACE 2025 is a celebration of the incredible community that has grown around Aras over the past 25 years,” said Roque Martin, CEO of Aras. “This event brings together innovators, engineers, and industry leaders who are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with PLM, digital thread, and AI. We’re excited to mark this milestone by fostering new connections, sharing knowledge, and shaping the future—together.”
Here is a virtual opportunity to visit Italy. ZAPI Group is hosting its fourth Future of Electrification Conference. I’d love to go to Italy in person, but I think I’ll hit this virtual opportunity.
Its fourth Future of Electrification virtual conference on February 26-27, 2025 will examine trends in the worldwide shift toward electrification, challenges and opportunities across different geographical regions, and the latest innovations driving adoption and transformation.
I wonder if they’ll explore the wrench that the Trump Administration may throw into these efforts?
The conference will provide insights into market dynamics, technology, and regulatory factors shaping the electrification movement. Centered on the theme “Innovating for Change,” presenters will share leadership expertise in the industrial electrification space, discuss the impact of battery technology in the adoption of electrification, examine challenges in the evolving global trade landscape, and more.
