Automate 2026

## TEE Take

**Automate** is the trade show where manufacturing robotics rubber meets the factory floor. Unlike **ICRA**, nobody here is publishing papers — they're selling systems. The exhibit floor is the single best place to benchmark the state of commercial robotics: who has real product, who has demos, and who has vaporware in a nice booth.

Detroit as a venue is perfect. The automotive supply chain executives who attend understand hardware timelines and integration complexity in ways that coastal tech audiences don't.

## Insider Tip

Walk the floor on Day 1 before the crowds arrive. Bring a list of 10 specific integration questions. The booth engineers on Day 1 are the technical leads; by Day 3, they've been replaced by sales reps. Ask about failure modes, not features. The "Advanced Robotics" pavilion in the back-left corner of the exhibit hall is where the interesting startups cluster.

## What to Expect

700+ exhibitors across industrial robotics, machine vision, motion control, and AI-powered automation. The **Association for Advancing Automation** (A3) runs a solid conference track covering cobot deployment, warehouse automation, and reshoring. Expect heavy AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) presence this year as the warehouse segment matures.

## Who Should Attend

Manufacturing operators evaluating automation investments. Robotics founders selling to industrial customers. Investors doing competitive landscape mapping for industrial automation. System integrators looking for new product lines.