Robots in manufacturing is not a new idea. But today an increasing number of collaborative robots are joining the ranks, working alongside their human coworkers.

At IMTS 2018, like at any industrial trade show, the predominant theme was Industry 4.0. Although Industry 4.0 still has not scaled up to cover a significant percentage of manufacturing setups, its vision of near-total automation—and the promise of resulting cost savings—has clearly captured the industry’s imagination.

The explosive growth of robots shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, especially in manufacturing. We are not quite to the level of a ‘90s action movie, but robots are certainly popping up in a lot more places these days. What may come as a surprise is the many ways companies are now using these robots, especially when it comes to metrology.

More and more industrial manufacturers are moving towards automated solutions both to improve efficiency and solve staffing dilemmas. These jobs are often boring, repetitive, and/or prone to injury due to the work environment or the repetitive motion.

The acquisition takes place two months after the OnRobot merger of three robotics companies from the United States, Hungary and Denmark that created one global player with a focus on the market for industrial robot accessories.