A busy first half of 2026

AS WE enter the summer period for most it’s a good time to reflect on what has been a very busy start to the year in the automation and robotics space. Whilst we still await the final results of the Innovate UK Robotic Adoption Hub Competition, which promises to fund a number of centres supporting an increase in robotics usage in the UK, we have also been through trade show season and it appears the mood in UK manufacturing has changed and the supply chain is seeing lots more opportunity than the previous two years. 

The Robotics Adoption Skills competition closed in April and the Automate UK bid alongside Cranfield university was successful. The bid was focused on course development for senior leaders and decision makers within industry. Once developed and accredited, the level 7 (MSc) equivalent module will be run by Cranfield within their degree programs and commercially as a CPD upskilling by Automate UK and other partners. It will hopefully prove to be a valuable asset and step change opportunity for UK business leaders on their journey to automation.

Adoption hubs

The full adoption hub process is still underway with full results expected in the coming months. It is understood that high number of bids were submitted to Innovate UK for the competition across multiple robot sectors, from traditional industrial and manufacturing through to medical and agricultural and even space robotics.
Personally, I hope that some manufacturing biased hubs are setup and committed to across the UK as it will bring considerable assistance to the automation journey for many. The task of derisking, simulation and financial business case support will be vital to support hitting the KPI’s for the hubs. In generating return of investment and total cost of ownership calculations I hope that businesses see consultancy support as a lower risk way to commit to their futures.

The past months have seen many trade shows take place. MACH exhibition at the NEC in April was the first of a busy period, and we experienced good visitor numbers to the exhibition and some fantastic high-quality engagement on the members company booths as part of the Automate UK pavilion in the Robotics & Automation Zone.

Digitally enabled manufacturing

Early June delivered the Smart Factory, TCT, Subcon and Interplas exhibitions again at the NEC. Smart Factory is one exhibition that I really enjoy purely for the different vibe it offers to visitors and exhibitors. It offers an environment that usually offers up new leads from businesses starting their journey into digitally enabled manufacturing.

As we look forward to the 2nd half of 2026, we know it will likely be as busy as the first half and if not even busier with the sales process for those leads generated at the 1st half of the year being processed and in full development. We expect business decisions to start to be made and commitment to invest after the summer assuming geopolitical challenges resolve and markets have some longer-term stability after UK government policy changes at the end of 2025.

Overall, I hope we see the commitment from industry to put change in place and that the investment in robotics and automation accelerates. 

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