The winners of Robotics & Automation Awards 2026 were announced on 18 March at the NEC Birmingham, with this year’s ceremony taking place live on the show floor during day one of Robotics and Automation 2026.
Held as part of the co-located IntraLogisteX, Robotics and Automation, Sustainable Supply Chain Exhibition and Fulfilment & Last Mile Expo, the awards recognised exhibitors demonstrating standout achievement in robotics, warehouse automation and fulfilment innovation.
The 2026 programme marked a significant change for the awards, moving away from a standalone evening format and into the heart of the exhibition itself. Eligibility was limited to companies exhibiting across the co-located shows, linking the programme more closely to the technologies, systems and solutions being presented live to visitors at the NEC.
John Thornton, editor-in-chief of Robotics & Automation Magazine, said: “What stood out this year was the strength of innovation across the shortlist, but also the quality of the commercial thinking behind the winning entries. The most compelling projects were not just innovative – they were clearly applied, well evidenced and grounded in real operational outcomes.”
Five awards were presented, reflecting different parts of a fast-evolving market, from automation products and warehouse systems to AMR-led intralogistics and order fulfilment innovation.
Interroll was named winner of Automation Product of the Year for MCP Play, its warehouse automation platform launched in 2025. Built as an extension of the company’s Modular Conveyor Platform, MCP Play is designed to simplify how conveyor systems are configured, installed and commissioned. Among its standout features is a ‘flowing merge’ function, which Interroll said can increase throughput by up to 40% while also reducing energy use, noise and wear.
The Warehouse System of the Year award went to Logistex with Pharmacy2U for a shuttle automation project at Pharmacy2U’s Bardon fulfilment centre. Delivered in partnership with Savoye, the installation supports the digital pharmacy’s growing prescription and healthcare fulfilment operation through a high-density X-PTS shuttle system featuring 30 storage levels and 9,600 tote locations. Designed to automate the storage and picking of slow-moving and sensitive medications, the project combined fulfilment performance with traceability, compliance and scalability.
In AMR-Orchestrated Intralogistics, Dexory with Ziegler UK took the award for a project focused on warehouse visibility and operational control. Ziegler UK deployed DexoryView, a platform combining autonomous mobile robots with a real-time digital twin of the warehouse, to reduce time spent on manual cycle counting, cut stock loss and improve visibility across a key UK site. The project underlined the growing role of autonomous data capture in warehouse intelligence and performance management.
Kardex AS Solutions with Emil Frey Logistik won Automated Picking & Order Fulfilment Innovation for its Intuitive Picking Assistant. The system uses projection technology and a 3D camera to present picking information directly on the work surface and track operator hand movements in real time. By removing the need for conventional hardware such as monitors, laser pointers and handheld scanners, the solution is designed to improve concentration, reduce errors and enhance ergonomics. Kardex said the technology can deliver 20% faster order processing alongside significant error reduction and improved employee satisfaction.
The final accolade of the ceremony, the Robotics & Automation Solution of the Year, was awarded to Ocado Intelligent Automation with Performance Health. The winning project centred on the deployment of Chuck autonomous mobile robots at Performance Health’s North American distribution centre, where the company sought to modernise a highly manual fulfilment operation handling nearly 17,000 SKUs. According to the submission, the project delivered a 104% increase in productivity, reduced the labour required for order picking by 50% and cut onboarding time by 99%, while helping 95% of orders ship within 24 hours.
Thornton added: “Bringing the Robotics & Automation Awards onto the show floor felt like the right move for 2026 because it placed recognition directly in the middle of the market. These are not ideas on paper; they are live technologies, live deployments and real operational results.”
Hosted live in the Robotics and Automation Theatre, the ceremony reflected the increasingly practical focus of the wider event, recognising projects and products being presented in the context of live market engagement rather than in isolation.
Taken together, the winners pointed to several of the major themes shaping this year’s exhibition: simpler and more flexible automation architectures, intelligent warehouse systems in regulated and high-growth environments, autonomous data capture and digital twin visibility, human-centred picking technologies and robotics deployments backed by clear performance gains.
Winners at a glance
- Automation Product of the Year: Interroll
- Warehouse System of the Year: Logistex with Pharmacy2U
- AMR-Orchestrated Intralogistics: Dexory with Ziegler UK
- Automated Picking & Order Fulfilment Innovation: Kardex AS Solutions with Emil Frey Logistik
- Robotics & Automation Solution of the Year: Ocado Intelligent Automation with Performance Health
