FEATURE Automated warehousing
After decades of cautious adoption, the conversation has finally shifted from whether the UK should automate to how quickly it can do so, and that may prove to be the defining industrial story of the decade
dynamically moving between workstations. This convergence of mobility, dexterity
and AI-driven decision-making opens opportunities for a new level of operational flexibility, where manufacturers can redeploy automation quickly as production needs change. This adaptability is especially important in the high-mix, low-volume environments typical of many SMEs. Advances in robot controllers are also unlocking new levels of precision and productivity. ABB’s OmniCore platform, including technologies such as OmniCore Eye Motion, combines AI-driven vision processing with high-performance motion control to enable robots to “see, think and act” simultaneously. This allows for faster, more accurate picking, assembly and inspection tasks, particularly in sectors such as electronics, automotive components and logistics where variability has traditionally limited automation. By tightly integrating vision, motion and AI into a single architecture, these controllers reduce system complexity while improving cycle times and quality consistency.
These developments mark a shift from
robots as isolated automation tools to intelligent, connected production assets capable of continuous optimisation. AI-powered navigation, mobile manipulation through AVRs, real-time vision integration and modular control platforms are enabling manufacturers to automate processes that were previously considered too complex, too variable or too costly to justify. As these technologies mature and become
more accessible, they are helping to move robotics adoption beyond large-scale enterprises and into the wider base of UK industry, supporting the idea that 2026 could indeed represent the beginning of a new era for industrial automation. The growing momentum behind robotics adoption suggests that the UK now has a genuine opportunity to close its long- standing productivity gap and strengthen the competitiveness of its manufacturing base. Policy support, improving access to funding and skills, and a new generation of easier-to-deploy, AI-enabled robotic systems
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are aligning in a way we have not seen before. Crucially, automation is becoming a practical, scalable tool for SMEs.
Realising this opportunity will depend on sustained collaboration between government, technology providers, educators and manufacturers themselves to ensure that investment is matched by capability and confidence on the factory floor. If that happens, robotics will not replace the UK’s skilled workforce but amplify it by freeing people from repetitive tasks, improving quality and resilience, and enabling companies to compete globally while producing locally.
ABB Robotics
www.abb.com/global/en/areas/robotics
automationmagazine.co.uk
Automation | June 2026
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