"If you look at the leap in development that these future technologies have made in just one year, it quickly becomes clear what dimension we are dealing with here. This is a new era of automation with a huge impact on the productivity and competitiveness of companies," emphasizes Patrick Schwarzkopf, Managing Director of the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association.

The transformation cannot be delayed

The decisive factor will be how quickly the industry succeeds in exploiting the full potential of this technology. Although a large majority of companies see artificial intelligence as an opportunity, only nine percent are actually using it. This was the result of a study by the digital association Bitkom, for which 606 companies with 20 or more employees from all sectors in Germany were surveyed.

42% are even of the opinion that they have missed the boat. Bitkom President Achim Berg puts this assessment into perspective: "AI is still a young technology. There is no reason to throw in the towel. Anyone who seriously engages with AI now can still gain a competitive advantage."
Come, see, digitize

Kuka is addressing trending topics such as digitalization and AI with several exhibits. For the first time, the Augsburg-based automation professional will be bringing decades of expertise in plant engineering to the Munich trade fair floor with the "Kuka Dome". This is a large screen dome in which visitors can visually experience real production systems in around 90 seconds.

The complete digitization process chain

Image processing systems - on show at the trade fair stands of ifm, Cognex and many other suppliers - provide real-time images of the environment and the latest generations of models learn to interpret the environment better and better with the help of AI. This not only speeds up the automation process, it also allows each individual movement sequence to be individually adapted to the current conditions - for example in pick and place processes.

For this task, ifm, for example, will present 3D sensors that work according to the "time of flight" principle of laser time-of-flight measurement and can be easily integrated into the user's software solution at the data level.

Experience the digital twin in the flesh

Of course, the much-cited digital twin can also be experienced live at automatica, including at the Stäubli stand. Here it will be standing right next to a real demo cell in which a Scara robot handles battery cells. Trade visitors can see for themselves how easily optimizations or adjustments can be anticipated thanks to virtual commissioning before they are actually transferred to the real application without risk and without errors.

Festo will present another use case for the digital twin, demonstrating how mechanical engineering can accelerate development cycles. Gerhard Borho, Chief Digitalization Officer at Festo: "We are working intensively on equipping our automation components with a 'digital twin'." Components are developed virtually as far as possible, even before the first hardware is manufactured - right through to testing and system integration.

How easy it is to make robots intelligent

A number of other manufacturers, including many innovative companies such as Micropsi Industries and robominds, want to qualify standard robots for AI applications. robominds demonstrates how easy this is with the robobrain: the brain that gives industrial robots human intelligence.

"With the robobrain starter kit and customized bundles, we present ready-to-use solutions for processes such as (de)palletizing, order picking, machine loading or sample handling in the laboratory," explains Christian Fenk, CSO of Robominds.

Siemens will be among those demonstrating the innovative strength with which large corporations are driving forward these future topics. Under the slogan "Accelerate Transformation", the company will be showcasing its entire range of solutions in the field of AI and digitalization. Specific application examples will be used to show visitors how easy it is to link the real world with the digital world.

A few weeks before the start of the trade fair, one thing is certain: digitalization and artificial intelligence are dominating automation like never before. They are turning intralogistics and production concepts into reality that not only boast outstanding efficiency, but also contribute to decarbonization and sustainability.