IOE Lunch & Learn · ABB Robotics
The future of robotics: Autonomous Versatile Robots
Join ABB Robotics for a working lunch on where automation is heading — from today’s collaborative robots to AI-driven, autonomous systems that see, reason and adapt.
The Opportunity
Robotics is at an inflection point
Manufacturers face rising demand for flexibility, persistent labour shortages, and pressure to do more with less. Traditional automation — powerful but rigidly programmed — struggles to keep pace with change on the floor.
As a global leader in robotics and automation, ABB Robotics is helping the industry move toward machines that are easier to work with, aware of their surroundings, and able to adapt. This session sets out ABB’s view of the market and the technology shift already underway.
The Roadmap
Toward AVR — Autonomous Versatile Robots
ABB’s roadmap points to a new class of machine: robots that are autonomous — planning and adjusting on their own — and versatile, able to handle changing tasks and environments rather than a single fixed job. Getting there means blending advanced sensing, AI, and control into robots that are dramatically simpler for people to instruct and trust.
The Building Blocks
Six core capabilities behind ABB’s vision
Robot–human interaction
Moving from programming to instructing — including no-code programming, and lead-through and speak-through teaching and training.
Sensing & perception
Augmenting robots with vision, force and other sensors — fusing them and leveraging AI to make sense of the surrounding environment.
Autonomous reasoning
At robot or fleet level: planning and re-planning task sequences from central command — or autonomously, as the environment changes.
Motion control & safety
The latest in automatic, collision-free path planning — delivered at high levels of safety and performance.
Localization, mapping & navigation
Visual SLAM enabling accuracy, robustness and semantic navigation as robots move through the world.
Dexterity
Force sensing and fine manipulation — leveraging sensors, end-to-end foundation models (VLAs) and other techniques to unlock new manipulation capabilities.
In Practice Today
Solutions that already reflect these capabilities
New generation of collaborative robots
A new wave of cobots designed for easier, safer human–robot collaboration on the floor.
Eyemotion
ABB’s integrated vision solution, Gen 2 — giving robots the sight to work with real-world variation.
Automatic collision-free path planning
Motion planning that finds safe, efficient paths automatically — no manual jog-and-teach required.
In the Field
ABB robotics in construction
Beyond the factory, ABB is bringing robotics to one of the world’s largest and least-automated industries. See how these capabilities translate to real construction applications — from prefabrication to on-site work.
Robotics applied to construction — prefabrication, precision and productivity on and off site.
Register
Reserve your spot — we’ll email you the Zoom link
This is a virtual session. Register on Eventbrite (it’s free) and the Zoom link will be sent to you ahead of the session.
Registration takes under a minute. Your details are only used to send the Zoom link and information about this session.
Institute for Operational Excellence (IOE) · Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME)