MT Magazine May/June 2026

FEATURE STORY

14

THE STATE OF AUTOMATION ISSUE

automotive industry had 135,461 robot installations worldwide. Likewise, robots have increased in electrical and electronics (125,804 installations) and metals and machinery (76,831) industries. Still, robot density in the United States, as measured by the number of robots installed per 10,000 employees, is behind many countries. The number of robots per 10,000 employees, according to the IFR: • Republic of Korea – 1,012 robots • Singapore – 770 robots • China – 470 robots • Germany – 429 robots This shows there is opportunity for U.S. manufacturers to increase their productivity and thereby become more competitive at home and in the world market. The AI Element One of the major developments changing the deployment of robotic automation is artificial intelligence (AI). According to Vikas Butaney, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco Secure Routing and Industrial IoT: “We’re seeing companies bring AI to life in impactful ways: from deploying machine vision to ensure product quality in manufacturing, to rolling out AI-powered automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that are reshaping material handling and logistics, to leveraging agentic operations that drive more autonomous, adaptive, and efficient workflows across industrial environments.” Butaney and his colleagues saw that as part of Cisco’s 2026 State of Industrial AI Report, a global survey conducted in 19 countries and across 21 industry sectors, including manufacturing. And the study shows that the No. 1 reason, with 63%, for the adoption of AI in manufacturing is improving productivity. Of course, AI isn’t necessarily automation, as it can be used for planning, logistics, and other functions. Yet nowadays, AI and robots are becoming more closely aligned. Closing the Sim-to-Real Gap On March 9, 2026, Marc Segura, president of ABB Robotics, announced, “Today, using NVIDIA accelerated computing and simulation technologies, we have removed the last barriers to making industrial and physical AI a reality at a global scale by closing the sim-to-real gap.” In other words, ABB is integrating Nvidia Omniverse libraries into its RobotStudio, a robotics programming, design, and simulation suite. Omniverse is a platform of libraries, • Japan – 419 robots • Sweden – 347 robots • Denmark – 306 robots • Slovenia – 306 robots • Switzerland – 302 robots • United States – 295 robots

This isn’t necessarily the future of industrial robots. BMW tested Figure 01 in its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. (Image courtesy of BMW)

Another word associated with it is “productivity,” or the ratio of output to input. Automation is a beneficial input. Nowadays, for various reasons, the availability of skilled – and even not-so-skilled – personnel has decreased. And U.S. tariffs are making material inputs – with steel, aluminum, and copper facing rates of 50% – more expensive, so the ability to enhance output is essential. Few disagree with the importance of automation for manufacturing competitiveness: 92% think that’s the case, according to a recent survey of 214 U.S. manufacturers conducted by IndustryWeek and Vention, an automation company that provides a cloud‑based industrial automation platform for manufacturers. However, the survey also found that only 37% of manufacturers have automated at scale. Yes, more manufacturers have some automation here or there in their plants, but the number of those who have gone beyond individual projects to embedding automation into their operations is comparatively small. The good news is that 73% plan to increase their automation investment over the next three years. This Is Not New What is surprising – and somewhat disappointing – is that robots aren’t more widespread in the United States, despite being pioneered domestically and being a fundamental yet flexible automation technology. The first industrial robot, from Unimation, was installed in a General Motors trim plant in New Jersey back in 1961. That was the very first. Anywhere. Robot use has increased in the decades since. According to the International Federation of Robotics, in 2023, the