Robotics and Automation 2026 has opened today (18 March) at the NEC Birmingham, bringing together more than 200 exhibitors, a free conference programme featuring 60+ sessions, and a new live Robotics & Automation Awards ceremony staged on the show floor.
Co-located with IntraLogisteX, the Sustainable Supply Chain Exhibition and Fulfilment & Last Mile Expo, the two-day event (18-19 March) brings robotics, automation, machine vision and smart manufacturing technologies into one place for engineering, operations and supply chain teams evaluating what is new, what works, and what is ready to deploy.
The robotics and automation floor includes a mix of established players and emerging specialists, with exhibitors including Bosch Rexroth, Toyota Material Handling UK, Rockwell Automation, EK Robotics, Elite Robots, SensoPart, NanoSen, CREAT3D and Acrovision.
Visitors can also access a wider ecosystem of automation and intralogistics suppliers across the co-located shows, including Boston Dynamics, Dexory, Element Logic, Exotec, Knapp UK, Locus Robotics, Ocado Intelligent Automation and Swisslog.
Live demonstrations remain a major draw, with exhibitors showcasing AMRs and AGVs, palletising systems, machine vision and sensing, safety technologies, AI-led inspection, and additive manufacturing for tooling and change parts.
For teams building a business case, the event offers an opportunity to compare suppliers side-by-side, test claims and compress weeks of research into two days of live evaluation and face-to-face meetings.
A major new feature for 2026 is the Robotics & Automation Awards ceremony, which moves onto the show floor today. Winners will be announced live on stage in the Robotics & Automation Theatre at 3:40pm. Eligibility has been tightened this year, with entries limited to companies exhibiting across the four co-located events.
The 2026 shortlist is:
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AMR-Orchestrated Intralogistics Award: Dexory with Ziegler UK; Logistex with John Lewis Partnership; Ocado Intelligent Automation with Performance Health
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Automated Picking & Order Fulfilment Innovation Award: Kardex AS Solutions with Emil Frey Logistik; Ocado Intelligent Automation with DHL
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Warehouse System of the Year: Kardex AS Solutions with Emil Frey Logistik; Logistex with Pharmacy2U; Ocado Intelligent Automation with DHL
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Automation Product of the Year: Interroll; Dexory with Company Shop Group; Kardex AS Solutions with Emil Frey Logistik
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Robotics & Automation Solution of the Year: Dexory; Ocado Intelligent Automation with Performance Health
Additionally, a number of exhibitor demonstrations and product launches are set to feature strongly across the two days.
Ocado Intelligent Automation will run live demonstrations of its Chuck AMR picking solution (Stand 200). SensoPart will highlight its DTECT Object 3D sensor (Stand 909), while Elite Robots will showcase collaborative palletising and precision handling applications (Stand 1240).
NanoSen will present a force sensing gripper demonstrator (Stand 1250) and EK Robotics will focus on its modular VARIO MOVE CB automated counterbalance AGV platform (Stand 1265). Toyota Material Handling UK will frame its stand around its ‘Zero Muda’ approach to automated material flow and waste reduction (Stand 1230).
Elsewhere, CREAT3D will showcase industrial additive manufacturing applications for tooling and change parts (Stand 1260). Fortop UK will feature machine safety, sensing and signalling technologies (Stand 1355), while Acrovision will demonstrate machine vision, traceability and packaging validation solutions (Stand 1340).
Cambridge spin-out Matta Labs will also highlight its industrial AI inspection platform for real-time quality control and root-cause analysis (Stand 1254).
Meanwhile, the free conference programme runs across three theatres, with the Robotics & Automation Theatre combining end-user case studies, deployment advice and thought leadership on themes including robotics adoption, standards, SME implementation and the integration of advanced robotics in high-speed manufacturing.
Sessions highlighted in the programme include Royal Mail process automation analyst Promise Akwaowo at 10:40am today, a panel discussion on UK robotics adoption at 2:20pm today, and Made Smarter adoption lessons at 3:00pm today, followed tomorrow by sessions on robotic standards (BSI Group, 10:40am) and high-speed manufacturing reliability and downtime elimination (McCormick UK, 2:40pm).
With the exhibition now open, Robotics and Automation 2026 is a concentrated, two-day route to exploring the full automation and intralogistics landscape in a single visit — from robots and vision systems to safety, software, inspection and real-world deployment lessons.
Join more than 10,000 industry professionals at Robotics & Automation Exhibition on 18–19 March 2026 at the NEC Birmingham to explore cutting-edge technologies, connect with peers and discover the latest innovations shaping manufacturing, engineering and logistics. Register for free to secure your place.
