Industrial Automation

DELRAY BEACH – November 05, 2026 -- The global time-sensitive networking (TSN) market will grow from USD 0.50 billion in 2026 to USD 3.96 billion by 2032, a CAGR of 41.3%, according to MarketsandMarkets.

Industrial automation replaces proprietary fieldbus with deterministic Ethernet

Expanding industrial automation and edge data processing are increasing the number of connected Ethernet nodes in each facility. As demand for deterministic performance rises and network architectures converge, TSN is displacing traditional proprietary fieldbus solutions. Operators are adopting IEEE 802.1AS for time synchronization, IEEE 802.1Qbv for time-aware shaping, and centralized network configuration architectures. Emerging applications include industrial robotics, motion control, predictive maintenance and automotive zonal architectures.

DALLAS – November 05, 2026 -- Texas Instruments (Nasdaq: TXN) has introduced a system-on-module that lets engineers switch between EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP and Profinet through a firmware update, alongside a dual-channel IO-Link master aimed at sensor-to-network integration in factory automation, robotics and Industrial IoT systems.

TICS100MOD runs three Industrial Ethernet protocols on one board

The TICS100MOD is built on TI's AM2612 microcontroller and DP83826AI Ethernet physical layer. TI describes it as the industry's smallest fully featured, certified communications SoM. Engineers select the protocol at boot time via firmware, so a single hardware design can serve different customer or regional requirements without a redesign.

The module integrates two Arm Cortex-R5F cores and external memory. TI says this is enough compute for fully featured protocol stacks and advanced factory automation applications.

GOYANG – November 03, 2026 -- ROBOTWORLD 2026 will gather 402 companies from 17 countries across 1,198 booths at the Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX) on Nov. 4-7, with Physical AI and AI-driven manufacturing as the central themes.

Record robot installations frame the show

Global industrial robot installations reached a record 603,307 units in 2025, up 11% year-on-year and above 600,000 for the first time, according to the International Federation of Robotics' World Robotics 2026 report. Asia accounted for 76% of new installations, or 457,315 units, a 14% increase. The IFR forecasts 655,000 installations worldwide in 2026.

Sheridan, Wyoming – November 02, 2026 -- The global industrial automation market is valued at USD 266.7 billion in 2026 and will reach USD 410.3 billion by 2031, a CAGR of 9%, according to a new study by Wissen Research. The market is moving from isolated, hardware-oriented machine control toward connected, software-based production that combines control hardware, robotics, industrial software and real-time analytics.

Factories installed a record 603,000 industrial robots in 2025

The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reports that installations rose 11% year on year, lifting the global operational stock to 5.079 million units. IFR forecasts a further 9% increase in 2026, to about 655,000 units.

Demand now extends beyond the car plant. In 2025, installations in metal and machinery grew 22%, while automotive and electronics each rose 10%. Collaborative robots accounted for 66,000 new installations, about 11% of the total.

Frankfurt am Main – October 31, 2026 -- The German Machine Tool Builders' Association (VDW) will launch NexGeM (Next Generation Metalworking), a new trade show on digital metalworking, as a co-located event of Hannover Messe from April 5 to 8, 2027.

VDW Managing Director Dr. Markus Heering said the move was overdue. Machine tools are embedded in the full digital industrial value chain, from planning to service, he said, yet connected machines receive too little attention outside a few specialist fairs.

NexGeM runs as a standalone event, not a scaled-down EMO Hannover

NexGeM is an independent show that links mechanical engineering with the IT and software sectors, which have so far exhibited largely separately. Because digitalization is its focus, it is not a classic machine tool fair and not a "small EMO Hannover," according to the organizers.

Vienna – October 29, 2026 -- Vienna-based WAVE Trockensysteme GmbH has put its best-selling FD440 freeze dryer under AI control, replacing a conventional industrial controller with the Interkey Brain system. On its first run on October 23, the AI rewrote its own program mid-process without stopping the machine. To WAVE's knowledge, this is the first industrial machine on the market guided by an AI rather than a fixed-program controller.

AI rewrites its own code during a live drying cycle

During the first batch, the team asked the AI to look for improvements while drying was under way. The system analyzed live measurement data, rewrote its program and installed the new version. The drying process did not have to be interrupted.

Espoo – October 29, 2026 -- Valmet has agreed to acquire Tieto's manufacturing execution system (MES) business, which generates annual revenues of about EUR 32 million and runs at roughly 300 pulp and paper production sites worldwide. Closing is expected in the second quarter of 2027, subject to customary closing conditions. The release did not disclose the purchase price.

Deal covers TIPS MES and Order to Cash for pulp, paper and fibre

The transaction includes the AI-powered TIPS MES for production planning and execution, plus the Order to Cash solution for the pulp, paper and fibre industry. TIPS MES combines Tieto Indtech's MES and Order to Cash products. It links production planning with manufacturing operations so manufacturers can manage and optimize output in real time. The web-based system is available as software as a service (SaaS). Its generative AI capabilities are meant to complement Valmet's own AI development.

Delray Beach – October 28, 2026 -- The global machine safety market will grow from USD 6.03 billion in 2026 to USD 8.78 billion by 2032, a CAGR of 6.4%, according to a MarketsandMarkets forecast.

Automation and Industry 4.0 raise machinery complexity and workplace risk

MarketsandMarkets attributes the growth to rapid adoption of automation and Industry 4.0 technologies. These increase machinery complexity and workplace risks, driving demand for safety PLCs and presence detection sensors. Manufacturers are also investing in IoT-enabled solutions for predictive analytics and for reducing downtime.

SHANGHAI – October 16, 2026 -- Suzhou-based Jodell Robotics, backed by a strategic industrial investment from Fortune Global 500 company Midea Group, launched three products at CIIF. It claims annual capacity above 100,000 units and more than 6,000 customers served worldwide.

Jodell launches three products to cover perception, interaction and execution

The portfolio comprises the Mozart biomimetic five-finger dexterous hand, self-developed visuo-tactile sensors and an embodied intelligence data acquisition kit. Jodell targets global research institutes, humanoid robot developers and high-end manufacturers.

San Francisco – October 14, 2026 -- Voxel, an industrial intelligence company, has added the Ventral AI engineering team to its organization, folding a computer vision specialist it has partnered with for the past year into its core engineering group.

Ventral AI brings expertise in moving cameras and data center construction

Ventral AI was co-founded by Matko Kulaš and Luka Žagar. It specializes in industrial automation and complex computer vision applications. The source names two areas of strength: