INDUSTRY News AUTOMA 2026 GETS TO THE HEART OF AI ABB COLUMN
PHYSICAL AI UNLOCKS THE NEXT WAVE OF ROBOTIC AUTOMATION
In the oil and gas industry, margins are thin, assets are old, safety cases are unforgiving and a wrong recommendation carries consequences that a warehouse robot never has to worry about. If autonomous operations and industrial AI hold up here, they tend to hold up anywhere. That is the backdrop for the Oil & Gas Automation and Digitalisation Congress (Automa) 2026, which runs in Amsterdam on 5-6 October and brings the operators, EPC contractors and technology providers wrestling with exactly this problem into one closed-door room. At the Leaders Talk, ExxonMobil looks at what it takes to scale industrial AI past the pilot stage. Tata Consultancy Services examines agentic AI use cases, the same question of delegated autonomy and accountability that the wider automation world is currently circling. Wood reframes maintenance not as a cost centre but as a live source of operational intelligence, with AI as the engine underneath. Digital twins get a session of their own at Automa 2026. Engineers
from Petrobras trace a path from hybrid process models to generative AI, showing how a twin earns its keep in day-to-day refinery decisions instead of sitting in a boardroom presentation. Siemens brings a case study that runs from 3D printing through to a working digital world, and Moeve makes the case for operator training simulators graduating into permanent operational assets rather than one-off commissioning tools. Tecnimont, meanwhile, connects advanced work packaging to real-time plant and simulation data, the unglamorous plumbing that decides whether a capital project lands on schedule or slides quietly past it. For an audience that has been reading about AI agents making decisions faster than anyone can audit them, the roundtable on autonomous IoT and smart operations at Automa 2026 hits close to home.
Automa 2026 runs as a closed-door Congress built around
structured meetings, not a sprawling exhibition floor. The full business programme is available on request through the Automa Congress website:
https://sh.bgs.group/4mp
Physical AI combines artificial intelligence with robotics, enabling machines to interpret their surroundings and adapt autonomously to function in real-world environments. It empowers robots to perform more complex tasks, collaborate safely with people and respond intelligently to changing production needs. Physical AI provides a welcome boost for manufacturers, who
are under pressure to improve productivity while addressing labour shortages, rising costs and the demand for ever greater production flexibility. For the first time, it equips companies with tools that can interpret, adapt and make decisions without human intervention. This marks a shift away from traditional robotic systems, which could only really be relied on to automate defined, repetitive tasks. The shift is made possible by Physical AI’s combination of artificial intelligence (machine learning), robotics, advanced sensing (especially machine vision) and real-time control. Where traditional automation relies on predefined rules, structured workflows and repetitive tasks, Physical AI enables robots to interpret their surroundings and respond autonomously, allowing them take on tasks that would previously have required human judgement. While the tasks get more complex, the robots are becoming easier than ever to deploy and train using simplified programming techniques. This lowers barriers to initial deployment and makes it easier to redeploy and retrain robots as production needs change. Also, many smaller companies used to see robotics as ‘difficult’ and were deterred from investing by their own lack of in-house expertise. Those obstacles are tumbling thanks to easier programming through Physical AI. Safety is always a priority, especially as more robots work alongside people. The advanced sensing and intelligent decision-making available with Physical AI enable safer collaboration. Combined with evolving safety standards, such as the recent overhaul of ISO 10218-1:2025, this supports the wider deployment of robots in shared workspaces. All these advantages mean a faster return on investment. Manufacturing is the traditional home of robots, but Physical AI is also accelerating the rollout of automation across industries ranging from logistics to healthcare, improving efficiency and service quality. By combining trusted robotics with cutting-edge AI and sensing technologies, the rollout of Physical AI will help create smarter factories, more agile supply chains and a more sustainable industrial future. Alan Conn, MD, ABB Robotics UK & Ireland
www.abb.com/robotics
automationmagazine.co.uk
Automation | July/August 2026
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