Some exhibitors are very clear about this: For Michael Blank, Director Marketing & Communication at the Ceratizit Group, an "AMB 2020 is unfortunately inconceivable at the moment". Irene Bader, Director Global Marketing at DMG Mori, emphasizes the protection of employees, customers, suppliers and partners: "For us as an international company, holding AMB 2020 is therefore not an option due to the many restrictions," she says, welcoming the postponement to 2022.

Nevertheless, the industry's need for information is there. For this reason, the AMB organizers have opted for an alternative program: an AMB Forum with a lecture program and table-top exhibition.

We also ensure a constant flow of information - in print, online and at events such as our virtual trade fair (page 51).

In the June issue of SCOPE, we explore the question of how robots can support people in the future. Peter Lange from Omron answered questions from my colleague Andreas Mühlbauer. In addition to the limits of the technology, a key topic was how cobots can contribute to maintaining jobs (from page 8).

From page 10 onwards, we show you how intelligent drives improve riveting technology. The Swiss company BalTec has teamed up with automation specialist Sigmatek to develop an innovative drive module that increases productivity and quality.

The article "Costs for sheet metal production in real time" on page 14 explains how to record the material and production costs of a sheet metal component as early as the planning phase. This is made possible by a tool in the CAD environment.

A new system consisting of four cameras guarantees a seamless all-round view in quality assurance. They precisely image rotationally symmetrical objects and guarantee greater process reliability (page 22).

According to studies, the economic added value of the Internet of Things could amount to around 11.1 trillion dollars by 2025. From page 26, the focus is therefore on the factory of the future and how you can realize it. One of the key challenges on the road to the smart factory is obtaining the right data and using it profitably. Aleksandar Kovačević from InterSystems describes how this works. He explains why interoperability is so important and how machine learning can be integrated into production.