On the sidelines of the ILA 2026, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and Siemens have agreed to collaborate on the planned Production Launch Center Defense (PLCD), an industry-driven platform designed to accelerate the transition of innovations into series production in the defense sector.

With its new 5G RedCap routers, Spectra is expanding its portfolio to include a mobile communication technology for industrial applications designed to bridge the gap between traditional 5G and established IoT standards such as LTE-M and NB-IoT.

Rittal and EcoG are expanding their collaboration. The focus is on modular charging infrastructure for electric truck depots and integration into energy systems.

Standard solutions quickly reach their limits under extreme conditions. Together, Ultra Motion and Faulhaber develop custom-designed actuators for deep-sea, space, and other demanding applications that place the highest demands on reliability and performance.

In the U.S., sales of industrial robots rose by 11% compared to the previous year: 38,000 units were newly installed in 2025. This significant recovery is driven by robust growth in the food industry and other non-manufacturing sectors. However, the automotive industry remains the largest customer sector.

Schunk is entering into a new development partnership with Robert Bosch Robotics. Their shared goal is to develop an industrial-grade robotic hand that can be integrated into various humanoid robot systems.

Koch Robotersysteme, a company specializing in the integration of robotic systems, has developed a complete, automated packaging line for packaging rolls based on Tentoma’s RoRo StretchPack packaging machine.

From part handoff to loading and unloading the injection molding machine to quality inspection: Yaskawa six-axis robots automate the entire handling process in a highly integrated production line for safety-critical sight domes.

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Neura Robotics has announced a Series C funding round worth up to $1.4 billion. This will help the company accelerate its mission to build the world’s leading physical AI platform.

The 2026 “Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Robotics & Automation” (IERA) goes to the Swiss deep-tech company Verity for its fully autonomous indoor drone system. The flying robots support the logistics and retail sectors by continuously monitoring inventory levels without GPS or human intervention.

With the Auto Kitting Station, Fuji has developed a new system unit that automates the loading of feeders with belt rolls for component feeding in placement machines. This so-called kitting or setup process was previously considered difficult to automate and was highly dependent on manual workflows.

With the Factor 4 Plus, UltiMaker is introducing a new version of its industrial desktop 3D printing platform, which operates at up to twice the print speed of the standard model. The platform is designed for use in manufacturing and defense applications and features capabilities for automated quality validation of printing processes.

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The Fraba Group, a manufacturer of sensors for industrial motion control, looks back on a successful 2025, a year in which both revenue and the number of employees increased.

From June 9 to 11, 2026, Sensor+Test once again brought together trade visitors from the fields of sensor technology, measurement, and testing in Nuremberg. With its focus on these core technologies and the wide range of application areas, the trade show offers a comprehensive overview of current developments and trends in the industry. The focus is on technologies that enable the collection and use of measurement data in industry, research, and development.

OT meets IT – the two worlds are meant to converge, data is meant to flow, and production is meant to become smart. Yet the reality in industry often remains stubbornly contradictory: while systems have long been technically interconnected, they remain organizationally separate.

DMG Mori will be showcasing turning and milling expertise, automation solutions and additive manufacturing along the Machining Transformation (MX) at the Bielefeld 2026 in-house exhibition.

In an interview with Andreas Mühlbauer, Ulrich Huggenberger, Managing Director and CEO of Xitaso, explains why software architectures, modular control systems and networked data models are crucial for the production of the future. He explains the challenges that companies have to overcome when it comes to IT/OT integration and how the IT/OT Integration Summit 2027 aims to provide new impetus.

New materials, more efficient components and digital control concepts are increasingly changing traditional conveyor technology. The focus of many developments is primarily on one goal: reducing overall costs. Considerable expenses are often incurred on the construction site in particular, which, according to industry figures, can account for more than 30 percent of the total costs of a conveyor system.

Automated guided vehicles are increasingly in demand in production and logistics as they automate processes efficiently - but in addition to the vehicle, the right peripherals are also crucial for safe operation. A new solution consisting of a standardized base trolley and individually configurable attachments now meets the manufacturer's specifications for the first time while also enabling flexible applications.

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Hummel AG is expanding its plant in Denzlingen with an investment of 35 million euros. The building application includes new buildings, electroplating and modern recovery technology.