At Automate 2025, Marc Segura, President of ABB’s Robotics Division, shared his vision for the future of industrial robotics, the growing integration of AI, and emerging use cases in sectors like healthcare, construction, and food processing. He also commented on ABB’s strategic decision to spin off its robotics division into an independent entity.
Robotics Beyond the Automotive Industry
Industrial robotics has historically grown within the automotive sector. But according to Segura, the rise of electric vehicles is now reshaping manufacturing processes, ushering in a new era for robotics.
At the same time, other industries are accelerating their adoption of automation. Consumer electronics was a pioneer in 2009, and now demand is exploding in areas like data centers, where robots help assemble the servers powering large language models (LLMs).
Looking ahead, Segura sees autonomous robot programming as the next big leap. Instead of coding robots line-by-line, operators will soon give them natural language instructions. Robots will use sensors, read process blueprints, interpret their surroundings, and generate their own action plans. This convergence of AI and robotics is a game-changer for industry.
Operating in Unstructured Environments
Another major advancement is the ability of robots to operate in unpredictable environments and handle objects they’ve never seen before. With computer vision and AI, these systems can now be deployed at scale.
In construction a sector still largely manual and inefficient ABB is partnering with startups and major firms to industrialize housing production. Components in wood, steel, or concrete are manufactured in factories and then assembled on-site.
In the food industry, ABB works with companies like BurgerBots in Los Angeles, as well as agricultural projects involving robotic seeding, cultivation, weeding, and harvesting.
Mobile Robots: Unlocking Total Factory Flexibility
Segura also emphasizes the rise of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), which are far more flexible than older automated guided vehicles (AGVs). With Visual SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping), AMRs use cameras to navigate and locate themselves in real time, enabling quick reconfiguration of production flows in the factory.
Training the Workforce for Automation
A key enabler of robotics adoption is education. ABB offers both online and in-person technical and strategic training to help businesses and their employees understand what automation really means for their production sites.
According to Segura, robotics combined with AI, is still in its early stages of an industrial revolution. Advances in vision, mobility, natural language understanding, and dexterity will allow robots to play an even more strategic role in manufacturing. ABB plans to remain at the forefront of this transformation, training tomorrow’s talent and embracing a more agile future through its newly independent structure.
Original article from AutomationWorld: Marc Segura Talks AI and Robotics : AutomationWorld - Marc Segura Talks AI and Robotics