Article written by Péter Fankhauser, CEO & Co-Founder at ANYbotics
Industrial operations are undergoing a major shift. Where early conversations about autonomous inspection robots focused on mobility and navigation, today the discussion has evolved. The question is no longer whether a robot can reliably move through a plant. It’s how the insights they gather can be integrated into the workflows, systems, and decisions that drive industrial performance.
Across industries, the challenges are clear: a widening skills gap, a retiring workforce, aging infrastructure, and increasing pressure to maximize availability and safety. Autonomous mobile robots are emerging as a foundational tool to address these pressures — not by replacing people, but by reshaping how people and technology work together.
From our work directly in the field with asset-intensive industries, three themes are defining the next phase of autonomous operations.
Over 70 customers, partners, and leaders from across the world joined us in Zurich for two days of intense, high-quality conversation at AIF 2025.
People, Not the Technology, Will Determine Who Succeeds
The future of industrial automation is not about removing humans from the loop, it’s about redefining the loop itself.
We are entering an era where human expertise and robotic intelligence complement one another. Robots excel at routine, high-frequency tasks that involve risk or repetition. Humans excel at contextual judgment, interpretation, and strategic decision-making. The organizations poised to lead are those building processes that reinforce this collaboration.
However, introducing robotics changes more than workflows. It reshapes identity, craftsmanship, and daily behaviors. Workers are not rejecting robots, they are actively figuring out what it means to work with them. The real challenge is organizational learning and mindset: how to adapt roles, build confidence, and foster pride in mastering advanced automation tools.
Success will not be defined by who has the most advanced robot, but by who best integrates human and robotic strengths into a shared operating model.
Breakout session on “Bridging the Gap between Corporate and the Shop Floor.” Mastering this organizational learning and mindset shift is key to adoption.
The Value is in the Intelligence, Not the Data
An autonomous inspection robot does not create value simply by moving through a plant. The value comes from the high-quality, contextual data it collects – data that can be accessed remotely, trended over time, and used to prevent failures before they happen.
Plants are already saturated with fixed sensors, yet many still struggle to answer critical questions about asset condition. The issue is rarely data quantity. It is data quality and interpretability.
Mobile robots are changing asset management strategies because they provide consistent, precise measurements directly where they are needed. They offer a more scalable and cost-efficient alternative to expanding dense sensor networks — while enhancing understanding of equipment health.
This data does more than document conditions. When integrated into digital workflows and maintenance systems, it enables a shift:
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From monitoring to insight
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From insight to intelligence
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From intelligence to action
This is the foundation for predictive and autonomous operations.
Sujit Kumar, Director Digital Production & Edge at SLB, presenting on “Reshaping O&G with Autonomous Robot Inspections & Agentic AI”.
The Future is a Shared Ecosystem
No single technology provider can transform industrial operations alone. The future lies in interoperable systems, where autonomous robots are naturally embedded into digital platforms, analytics tools, and plant operations workflows.
This ecosystem is already taking shape. Autonomous robots complement enterprise asset management systems, digital twin platforms, and reliability engineering workflows. Remote experts can analyze data without being onsite. Plants can scale insights across global portfolios.
The more seamlessly robotics integrates into broader operational systems, the faster the impact compounds.
Our Shared Path Forward
The future of industrial automation is beyond the robot itself. It is about building autonomous, intelligent operations where robots, people, and data systems form a unified workflow that enhances safety, asset integrity, and plant performance.
For ANYbotics, this means:
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Expanding use cases across industries and asset types
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Introducing new sensing and perception capabilities
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Strengthening software integrations and data intelligence
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Ensuring reliability and safety that plants can trust at scale
Above all, it means working closely with the pioneers across industry who are shaping this transformation on the ground.
The path forward is shared and the momentum is accelerating.