Automate 2026 Grandly Opens in Chicago

June 22, Chicago — Automate 2026, North America’s largest robotics and industrial automation exhibition hosted by A3, kicked off at McCormick Place, Chicago, running from June 22 to 25. The show covers two halls with over 1,000 exhibitors and an expected 50,000 global manufacturing attendees, themed “Transforming Manufacturing Through Automation”.

Humanoid robots stand out as the biggest highlight this year with a dedicated NVIDIA-sponsored Humanoid Robot Pavilion and a special industry forum, showcasing commercially available humanoid platforms for factory handling, assembly and inspection. Industrial physical AI, digital twin virtual commissioning, 3D machine vision and autonomous mobile robots are widely demonstrated to solve labor shortage and flexible production pain points for automotive, electronics, medical and logistics industries.

Global leaders including FANUC, Siemens, ABB, KUKA, Universal Robots, Cognex and SICK unveiled their latest intelligent automation suites. Meanwhile, a growing lineup of Chinese manufacturers of collaborative robots, AMRs, motion control systems and servo drives expanded their footprint in the North American market.

Over 140 technical conferences and live robot demo zones are arranged throughout the four-day event, delivering forward-looking insights on industrial AI adoption, workforce transformation and global supply chain optimization, marking a pivotal milestone for the worldwide automation industry.