Events
Industrial Automation Events
The year 2026 features several major global events specifically focused on industrial automation, smart manufacturing, and logistics.
Here are the primary industrial automation conferences and trade shows for 2026:
Q1 - Q2: Spring & Summer
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MODEX 2026
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Dates: April 13–16, 2026
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Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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Focus: Large-scale supply chain and manufacturing automation, featuring over 1,000 providers of material handling and logistics technology.
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Hannover Messe 2026
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Dates: April 20–24, 2026
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Location: Hannover, Germany
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Focus: The world's leading trade fair for industrial technology, heavily emphasizing Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing, and energy-efficient production.
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TechEx North America (Intelligent Automation)
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Dates: May 18–19, 2026
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Location: San Jose, California, USA
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Focus: Explores the intersection of AI, IoT, and automated manufacturing systems.
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Automate 2026
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Dates: June 22–25, 2026
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Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Focus: The benchmark North American event for robotics, vision systems, and motion control across all industrial sectors.
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Q3 - Q4: Fall & Winter
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IMTS 2026 (International Manufacturing Technology Show)
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Dates: September 14–19, 2026
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Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Focus: One of the largest industrial trade shows in the world, focused on machine tools, precision metalworking, and advanced manufacturing automation.
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Pack Expo International 2026
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Dates: October 18–21, 2026
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Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Focus: Specialized in packaging automation, fully integrated production lines, and warehouse organization systems.
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FABTECH 2026
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Dates: October 21–23, 2026
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Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
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Focus: North America’s premier event for metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing with a strong focus on stamping and press automation.
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SPS – Smart Production Solutions 2026
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Dates: November 24–26, 2026
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Location: Nuremberg, Germany
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Focus: A definitive European event for smart and digital automation, covering the entire spectrum from sensors to cloud-integrated solutions。
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Industrial Automation Conferences (2025)
North America
🔹 Automate 2025
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📍 Detroit, USA
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📅 May 12–15, 2025
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⭐ One of the largest robotics & automation events in North America
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Focus: industrial robotics, AI automation, manufacturing tech
🔹 NVIDIA GTC 2025
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📍 San Jose, USA
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📅 March 17–21, 2025
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Focus: AI, robotics, autonomous systems
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Attracts thousands of engineers and tech leaders
🔹 Robotics Summit & Expo 2025
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📍 Boston, USA
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📅 (typically May)
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Focus: robotics engineering, development, and deployment
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~6,000+ developers and industry experts attend
Europe
🔹 European Robotics Forum 2025
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📍 Stuttgart, Germany
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📅 March 25–27, 2025
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Europe’s leading robotics and automation forum
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1,000+ participants from industry & academia
🔹 IEEE ICRA 2025
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📍 (Annual global location)
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📅 Typically May/June
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One of the most prestigious robotics conferences worldwide
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Brings top researchers and industry leaders together
🌏 Asia
🔹 Shanghai Smart Factory & Robotics Expo 2025
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📍 Shanghai, China
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📅 July 29–31, 2025
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Focus: smart manufacturing, factory automation, robotics
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Major Asia-Pacific industrial automation exhibition
🔹 KROS 2025
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📍 Gangwon-do, South Korea
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📅 February 12–15, 2025
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Focus: AI-driven robotics and embodied intelligence
🌐 Other Notable / Academic & Industry Events
🔹 EECR 2025
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📍 Changzhou, China
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📅 April 18–20, 2025
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Focus: control systems, automation, robotics research
🔹 Inspire-2025
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📍 India
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Focus: AI, robotics, intelligent automation systems
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Includes workshops and academic research presentations
Robotic Industry Events
The year 2026 is a significant one for the robotics industry, with several major flagship conferences and trade shows scheduled across Europe, North America, and Asia.
Here are the key global robotics conferences for 2026:
Q1 - Q2: Early Year & Spring Events
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European Robotics Forum (ERF 2026)
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Dates: March 23–27, 2026
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Location: Stavanger, Norway
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Focus: Europe's premier robotics forum, focusing on the "blue economy" (marine robotics) and growth in space applications.
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Robotics Summit & Expo
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Dates: May 25–27, 2026
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Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Focus: Dedicated to the design, development, and manufacturing of commercial robotics and intelligent systems.
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IEEE ICRA 2026 (International Conference on Robotics and Automation)
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Dates: June 1–5, 2026
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Location: Vienna, Austria
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Focus: The world's largest and most prestigious academic robotics conference, covering everything from soft robotics to autonomous systems.
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Automate 2026
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Dates: June 22–25, 2026
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Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA (McCormick Place)
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Focus: North America's largest automation showcase, featuring industrial robotics, vision systems, and motion control.
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Q3 - Q4: Summer & Fall Events
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World Robot Conference (WRC 2026)
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Dates: August 21–25, 2026 (Symposium date: August 21)
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Location: Beijing, China
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Focus: A massive exhibition and forum that often features the latest in humanoid robots and consumer robotics from the Asian market.
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ROSCon 2026
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Dates: September 22–24, 2026
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Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Focus: The annual developer-focused conference for the Robot Operating System (ROS) community.
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IEEE/RSJ IROS 2026 (International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems)
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Dates: September 27 – October 1, 2026
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Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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Focus: A major global forum for research in intelligent robots and smart machines, hosted in the "Robotics Capital of the World."
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RoboBusiness 2026
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Dates: TBA (Usually October)
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Location: Santa Clara, California, USA
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Focus: Aimed at the business side of robotics, including investment, startup pitches, and logistics/supply chain applications.
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2025 Robotic Industry Conferences
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Automate 2025
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Date: May 12–15, 2025
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Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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Highlights: The largest automation showcase in North America. 2025 saw a major shift toward collaborative robots (cobots) in small-scale manufacturing.
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Robotics Summit & Expo 2025
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Date: April 30 – May 1, 2025
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Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Focus: Design and development of commercial robots. Major component manufacturers like Sumitomo and Nidec showcased new precision gearing.
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Shanghai Smart Factory & Robotics Expo (SIA 2025)
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Date: July 29–31, 2025
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Location: Shanghai, China
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Focus: Industrial IoT and massive-scale smart factory automation.
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Humanoid & Niche Forums (2025)
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Humanoid Robot Forum 2025
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Date: September 23, 2025
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Location: Seattle, Washington, USA
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Focus: Dedicated entirely to the deployment of humanoid assistants in manufacturing environments.
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RobotWorld 2025
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Date: November 5–8, 2025
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Location: Goyang (KINTEX), South Korea
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Focus: A massive B2B event highlighting Korea’s leadership in service and logistics robots.
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