International Federation of Robotics
The 'Award for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Robotics & Automation' (IERA) 2025 goes to Otto from Rockwell Automation, an autonomous mobile robot (AMR). Otto is the first AMR built to handle heavy loads in factories in robot fleets of more than 100 units.
read more...Incoming orders in the German machine tool industry fell by 5% in the third quarter of 2025. Domestic demand in particular fell sharply, while foreign orders remained stable. Dr. Markus Heering from the VDW explains the current trends and regional developments.
read more...Award for Automation in Agriculture
The German Agricultural Society (DLG) has awarded the "Systems & Components Trophy - Engineers' Choice" to the 'ReBeL Cobot' from igus. The compact robotic arm is designed to enable cost-effective automation in agriculture.
read more...Schunk initiates a planned change in the management team: Falk Bäurle will take over the role of COO/CFO on December 1, 2025. The role of CSO will be filled by Karl Heckl on April 1, 2026.
read more...Ubito, globally active in Wiegand energy harvesting technology and part of the internationally active Fraba Group, has announced that Dr. Gunther Kegel has joined the company's Advisory Council. As CEO of Pepperl+Fuchs for many years, Dr. Kegel has been a key figure in industrial automation for decades.
read more...Partnership for humanoid robotics
Schaeffler and Neura Robotics will work together in the future to develop and supply key components for humanoid robots. The systems will also be integrated into Schaeffler's global production network.
read more...Dr. Michael Jürgens, CEO of Kuka Robotics, is a new member of the board of the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association.
read more...Industrial robots are central elements of digital and networked production. It is therefore important that robots can communicate smoothly with each other and with other systems, regardless of the manufacturer. The VDMA OPC Robotics Initiative has now taken a significant step in this direction.
read more...'Motoman Next' from Yaskawa is a coordinated system of robot and control hardware and software. The robot controller RCU (Robot Control Unit) is supplemented by an ACU (Autonomous Control Unit), which is based on an Nvidia Jetson Orin NX Edge device with integrated CPU and GPU.
read more...ABB has agreed to sell its Robotics division to the Japanese SoftBank Group for an enterprise value of 5.375 billion US dollars. Closing is expected mid to late 2026. The transaction is expected to deliver short-term value to shareholders, while ABB intends to deploy the proceeds in accordance with its capital guidelines.
read more...Open standards in intralogistics
Bosch Rexroth and Synaos have integrated the autonomous mobile robot 'A-Mate Lite' from K.Hartwall into the 'Synaos Intralogistics Platform'. This is based on the open communication standard VDA 5050, which facilitates the control of mixed fleets
read more...International Federation of Robotics
Global sales of professional service robots have risen by 9% to almost 200,000 units, according to the annual report 'World Robotics - Service Robots' published by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). The shortage of qualified workers is one of the main reasons for companies to rely on robots that are specially designed for use with trained specialists.
read more...ek robotics, manufacturer of automated guided vehicles (AGVs), has found a new owner in Neura Robotics. This secures the company's long-term future.
read more...The Zimmer Group continues its international growth course and establishes Zimmer Group Scandinavia AB, based in Sweden, on October 1, 2025. With this step, the company is further expanding its market presence in Scandinavia and underscoring the strategic importance of the region.
read more...Franco-German research project
The Franco-German lighthouse project GreenBotAI has succeeded in making robotics more sustainable and efficient. The project shows how trustworthy AI "made in Europe" can not only speed up production processes, but also significantly reduce the energy consumption of industrial robots.
read more...International Federation of Robotics
The manufacturing industry installed a total of 542,000 new industrial robots in factories worldwide in 2024 - more than twice as many as ten years ago. This exceeded the 500,000 unit mark for the fourth year in a row, according to the World Robotics 2025 yearbook published by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).
read more...The Delta Electronics Foundation is committed to coral protection and uses modern technology in a targeted manner. The 'D-Bot' plays a central role in this.
read more...Downtime is expensive - especially when vehicles break down. Modern spare parts management relies on warehouse robotics and automated systems to ensure that processes do not come to a standstill.
read more...The electrical and digital industry has the greatest growth potential of all German industrial sectors. This is the finding of a recent study by IW Consult and the Federation of German Industries (BDI). In this context, ZVEI is calling for improved political framework conditions and is presenting an “Agenda for the Industry of Tomorrow.” The focus areas are automation, artificial intelligence, energy technology, microelectronics, and defense.
read more...Human-like robots are seen as the next big innovation in robotics. China is already planning mass production, while companies in the USA and Europe are announcing major investments. The aim is to develop universal robots based on human mechanics. The position paper of the International Federation of Robotics sheds light on trends, opportunities and limitations.
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