This is you Robotics Industry Insider: AI & Automation News podcast.
Welcome to Robotics Industry Insider: AI and Automation News. As we kick off 2026, the robotics sector pulses with momentum, driven by manufacturing resurgence and AI breakthroughs. Brightpick CEO Jan Zizka predicts manufacturing will lead automation adoption, fueled by United States supply chain shifts, labor shortages exceeding one million jobs, and tariffs pushing nearshoring. This counters stagnant industrial robot installations since 2021, where China holds over 50 percent of deployments.
Fresh from CES 2026 previews, Hyundai Motor Group unveils Boston Dynamics' all-electric Atlas humanoid, boasting 360-degree rotational joints for software-defined factories that blend robots seamlessly into production. Doosan Robotics counters with Scan and Go, an AI system for unmanned repairs on aircraft fuselages and wind turbine blades, partnering with Maple Advanced Robotics. Chinese firms ramp up humanoid showcases, signaling a Korea-China showdown, while Schaeffler debuts planetary gear actuators for humanoids and autonomous forklifts tackling tight spaces via electromechanical precision and predictive maintenance.
Market data underscores the surge: Transpire Insight forecasts the industrial automation market hitting 569.62 billion United States dollars by 2033, growing at 9.30 percent compound annual growth rate from 279.68 billion in 2025, with North America leading via Industry 4.0 pushes in automotive and aerospace. Precedence Research pegs control systems at 253.64 billion in 2026, racing to 576.99 billion by 2034 at 10.82 percent compound annual growth rate.
AI integration shines in embodied systems, enabling real-time data for lights-out warehouses—hybrid models running unsupervised off-peak—and Robots-as-a-Service, easing pilots for cash-strapped manufacturers. Humanoids grab headlines but lag production-scale due to costs, focusing instead on pilots.
Practical takeaway: Manufacturers, audit lines for 48-volt robotic upgrades like Allegro solutions for safer, higher-power automation; explore Robots-as-a-Service to test AI cobots risk-free.
Looking ahead, expect humanoid pricing clarity, factory deployments, and AI-physical intelligence fusion, like Physical Intelligence's 400 million dollar bet on universal robot brains, reshaping labor and productivity.
Thanks for tuning in, listeners—come back next week for more. This has been a Quiet Please production. For me, check out Quiet Please Dot A I.
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