Five trends in automation for the second half of 2026

AI, machine vision, and smarter, more collaborative robots respond to changing supply chains. This episode is brought to you by Mouser Electronics.

Artificial intelligence is clearly the most talked about trend, particularly where it runs edge computing applications, where cyber security is the major driver for the increase in interest about the edge. Advanced sensing, particularly machine vision, is another accelerating trend, especially since AI can.

What Happened

Autonomous mobile robots are also advancing, and benefit directly from advancements in edge computing, AI and machine vision. Collaborative robots, after years of niche application, are beginning to break into the mainstream, as the need for rapid reconfiguration of production lines in.

• Mid way through 2026, trends in industrial automation for the second half of the year include five major issues.

• Going forward, it’s expected that single platforms will control everything from front-end logistics to individual programmable logic controllers.

• The fifth trend is toward integrated software control of the entire production process, from quality inspection to enterprise resource planning.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by Design World as more details emerge