Increased demand for automation

Against the backdrop of the current geopolitical and economic challenges: In which geographical regions and sectors does ABB currently see growth potential or stable demand?

We see equal potential in Europe, North America and Asia - particularly in China. We are therefore investing in all our production sites in order to be close to our customers in line with our "local for local" approach. We recently expanded our US plant in Auburn Hills, invested 280 million US dollars in our robotics campus in Sweden and opened a new robot factory in Shanghai in 2022.

Driven by the current challenges - and enabled by flexible, AI-supported and easy-to-use solutions - more and more companies are discovering automation for themselves. We are seeing increased demand from sectors such as logistics, healthcare and construction. Medium-sized companies are also using more robots.

What technological innovations will ABB be presenting at Automatica 2025?

Our trade fair appearance in Hall B5, Stand 321, reflects the requirements of our customers: ease of operation and programming, a high degree of flexibility to enable rapid scaling of production, as well as added sustainability.

Accordingly, one focus is on collaborative robotics and the expansion of our partner ecosystem. Visitors can see and try out various cobot applications. We will demonstrate how manufacturers can keep their production flexible using a modular production cell - in conjunction with AI-supported AMR. As part of the Automatica "Healthtech" offensive, we will also be showing a robot-assisted laboratory table at our stand. What unites all these solutions is ABB's OmniCore controller family - the "heart" of our stand. This will be flanked by digital solutions such as the no-code tool App-Studio and our energy efficiency service. We will also be presenting some exclusive innovations.

What role does AI play in your current robotics solutions - for example in programming, use or maintenance?

With the help of AI, our research teams around the world are expanding the capabilities of robots beyond what conventional robots can do. They are giving them eyes, hands, "brains", the ability to understand natural language and mobility - based on our mobile platform.

This is particularly important for small and medium-sized enterprises. They can implement automation solutions that do not require programming skills and are more intuitive and easier to use. The potential goes far beyond traditional manufacturing. At ABB, we always approach product development - including AI - from the customer's perspective. Our AI-supported robotic solutions are already being used in various applications and industries - from autonomous navigation to pick & place and quality assurance.