Automation UK 2025, held on May 7–8 at the Coventry Building Society Arena, reaffirmed its position as the UK’s leading event for industrial automation, robotics, and machine vision. Hosted by Automate UK, the exhibition drew a wide spectrum of attendees, from manufacturers and engineers to technology leaders all eager to explore the latest in automation innovation.
With over 50 top-tier exhibitors, including major names like Siemens, ABB, KUKA Robotics, and Rockwell Automation, the show floor buzzed with cutting-edge technologies and real-world solutions.
A major highlight this year was the integration of Vision UK, previously known as the Machine Vision Conference, into the main exhibition. This strategic merger offered visitors a truly comprehensive experience, bringing machine vision to the forefront of modern manufacturing. Live demos and expert-led sessions covered everything from high-speed imaging to AI-driven quality inspection. Vision specialists such as Clearview Imaging, Scorpion Vision, ALRAD, and Emergent Vision were among the standout exhibitors, showcasing the latest in imaging technology and smart vision systems.
The seminar programme added immense value across the two days, headlined by compelling keynotes from industry thought leaders including Jake Hall, widely known as the ‘Manufacturing Millennial,’ and Mike Loughran from Rockwell Automation.
As sponsors of Machine Vision Theatre 1, we were proud to host a series of insightful and engaging presentations that covered a wide array of topics. Personal highlights included Nathaniel Hofmann of SICK UK, who offered a forward-looking perspective on innovation and opportunity in the sector, and Alexander Krotov of Scorpion Vision, who presented an in-depth analysis of how AI can overcome data shifts and vision challenges—an especially fascinating session for those with a background in data analysis.
We also heard an important update from Peter Williamson, Executive Chair of Automate UK, who outlined the evolving priorities and growth opportunities in the UK vision industry. The theatre reached capacity for the keynote session from Tim Dawson and Jonathon Sparks of Interact Analysis, who delivered a compelling overview of the UK Vision Market’s development and future trajectory.
Seeing some new products being demonstrated as well gave a a really exciting in sight in to what we can look forward to in 2025.
TPL Vision LED Solutions, showcasing their new release, ELINE, a range of Line Scan Barlights that come in different lengths and wavelengths, with built-in drivers that let you adjust light intensity and sync the flash to your camera’s trigger to help you get clear, consistent images across the full width of your scan.
The company’s game-changing AngleChangers were also present on the booth: allowing to quickly reshape and soften a ring light’s beam and adjust beam angle, diffusion, and brightness, they make flexibility and customisation in illumination for machine vision applications easier!
With ASHVision, it was great to come close to their digital inspection portfolio. The ACUMENAI model seems to have proven a success with the audience this year. With no need for coding expertise, the product lets user capture and label images, train custom AI models, and then automatically identify, classify, measure, and count defects or features in real time. Object-detection, anomaly-detection, instance-segmentation and classification algorithms, are all accessed through an intuitive interface.
With its broadened scope and rich mix of technical content, Automation UK 2025 not only highlighted the latest innovations in automation and vision but also served as a vital forum for knowledge sharing and strategic collaboration. The energy and engagement throughout the event confirmed its role as a cornerstone for driving progress and connectivity in the UK’s industrial landscape.
We are already looking forward to the next and catching up further with colleagues old and new
