eBook: Automation and Robotics: From Business Case to Deployment

Automation and robotics have moved well beyond the pilot stage in many manufacturing environments. As adoption expands, the conversation is shifting from whether to automate to how automation can be deployed more effectively, economically and with greater flexibility.

This eBook examines some of the technologies, engineering strategies and business models shaping that shift. Across industries, manufacturers are looking for ways to improve throughput, flexibility and precision without undertaking major facility overhauls. For engineers, that raises a familiar set of questions: How much automation is enough? What should be custom engineered and what can be standardized? And how can new capabilities be integrated without creating additional complexity?

The articles in this collection explore those questions from multiple angles, from the economics of Robotics-as-a-Service and machine tending to the hardware, motion technologies and system architectures supporting modern automation. They also examine the growing intersection of AI and physical systems, where software must contend with sensors, tooling, machine dynamics and the realities of factory operations. The collection concludes with deployment and safety considerations that can ultimately determine whether an automated system succeeds outside of simulation and on the production floor.