Cover of Business of Automation

Business of Automation

Business of Automation

By: Association for Advancing Automation
Listen for free

Season's Savings | 0.99 €/month for 3 months

5.99 €/month thereafter - terms apply. Cancel monthly.

The Business of Automation is a weekly video podcast exploring the money, markets, policies, and business decisions shaping industrial automation.

Hosted by Aaron Prather, Director of Market Intelligence at A3, the show goes beyond the headlines to examine what developments in robotics, artificial intelligence, manufacturing, supply chains, investment, and government policy mean for companies across the automation industry.

From humanoid robotics and emerging technologies to market growth, trade policy, and automation ROI, each episode delivers informed analysis for automation leaders, manufacturers, investors, integrators, and anyone building the future of industry.

© 2026 Business of Automation Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Avoiding Automation Failures with ATI Cofounder Bob Little

    Avoiding Automation Failures with ATI Cofounder Bob Little
    16 Oct 2026
    Buying a robot is only one part of making automation work. The bigger challenge is understanding the manufacturing process, choosing the right integration partner, and defining what success needs to look like on the factory floor.In Episode 8 of The Business of Automation, Aaron Prather, Director of Market Intelligence at A3, speaks with Robert “Bob” Little, cofounder of ATI Industrial Automation and an Engelberger Robotics Award winner with more than 40 years of experience in robotics.Bob explains why an impressive trade show demonstration can be difficult to reproduce in a working factory. Manufacturers need to document their process, identify the variability employees manage every day and stay involved with their integrator. Clear KPIs, agreed acceptance criteria and a willingness to adjust the plan help keep a project moving toward the right outcome.The conversation also examines why workforce planning belongs in the automation strategy from the beginning. Bob discusses worker buy-in, job security and opportunities to move into other roles, along with the limits of trying to automate every task.Looking ahead, Bob shares his view of where physical AI could make existing robot arms, machine vision and factory systems more adaptable. He weighs the current readiness of humanoid robots, the safety and training-data challenges facing physical AI, and the competitive advantage manufacturers may gain by owning the technology and the data behind it.Aaron and Bob also discuss the component supply chains needed to support U.S. reshoring and whether companies developing robotics in-house will share those advances with the wider market.For manufacturers deciding where to start, Bob points to repeatable processes, enough production volume to justify the investment, and direct conversations with multiple integrators and robot suppliers. The goal is a system that improves productivity and can grow with the business.LINKS AND RESOURCESFollow Bob Little:https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-little-707791a LinkedInExplore Robert Little Robotics:https://www.rlittlerobotics.com rlittlerobotics.comRobert Little’s Engelberger Robotics Award recognition:https://www.automate.org/robotics/engelberger/joseph-f-engelberger-awards automate.orgRead The Business of Automation on Substack:https://thebusinessofautomation.substack.comA3’s guide to choosing a system integrator:https://www.automate.org/robotics/blogs/how-to-pick-the-right-system-integrator-for-your-project A3Find A3 Certified Robot Integrators:https://www.automate.org/robotics/robotic-integrator-certification-program/meet-the-a3-certified-robot-integrators automate.orgA3 on physical AI and easier industrial robot deployment:https://www.automate.org/robotics/industry-insights/how-physical-ai-could-make-industrial-robots-easier-to-deploy Association for Advancing AutomationA3 webinar on physical AI in manufacturing and safety:https://www.automate.org/ai/webinars/physical-ai-in-manufacturing-and-safety-with-safetics-and-doosan automate.orgRobert Little’s Engelberger Robotics Award recognition:https://www.automate.org/robotics/engelberger/joseph-f-engelberger-awards automate.orgExplore Automate 2027:https://www.automateshow.com Automate 2027Follow Aaron Prather:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ampratherSubscribe to A3 on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@a3automateExplore A3:https://www.automate.org
    Show more Show less
    39 min
  • Robot Hands and the Business Case for Humanoids

    Robot Hands and the Business Case for Humanoids
    9 Oct 2026

    A humanoid can walk, jump, and backflip. Its business value depends on what it can do with its hands.


    In Episode 7 of The Business of Automation, Aaron Prather, Director of Market Intelligence at A3, examines how Unitree, Tesla, Tangent Robotics and Boston Dynamics are confronting the gap between humanoid capability and useful industrial work.


    Unitree’s stock market swings raise a basic commercial question: how much of its humanoid business comes from productive industrial applications and customers who will buy again? Aaron looks beyond valuations and shipment totals to examine where the robots are going and what they are actually doing.


    He then examines reported hand assembly and touch sensor problems in Tesla’s Optimus program. Tesla has not confirmed the hardware details discussed, and Aaron distinguishes ambitious production targets from the engineering needed to reach them.


    Tangent Robotics’ $4.5 million funding round, co-led by Toyota Ventures, and Boston Dynamics’ new four-finger Atlas hand offer two approaches to robotic dexterity. Tangent is developing fine motor skills for demanding assembly tasks. Boston Dynamics is designing for industrial work while weighing the added complexity of every finger.


    For businesses evaluating automation, the question is whether the robot can perform the task reliably and survive the working environment. Aaron’s verdict: manipulation is the product, whether those hands arrive on a humanoid or another kind of robot.


    LINKS AND RESOURCES

    Read The Business of Automation on Substack:
    https://thebusinessofautomation.substack.com


    Aaron Prather’s A3 analysis of Unitree and humanoid IPO scrutiny:
    https://www.automate.org/robotics/news/china-may-be-starting-to-police-the-humanoid-bubble


    Original reporting on Tesla’s Optimus production challenges:
    https://www.theinformation.com/articles/teslas-optimus-hits-snags-hands-suppliers-scale-up-begins


    Tangent Robotics’ $4.5 million funding announcement:
    https://www.tangentrobotics.ai/pre-seed-funding-round-led-by-fly-ventures-and-toyota-ventures/


    Boston Dynamics’ new Atlas hand design:
    https://bostondynamics.com/blog/robot-hands-for-modern-ai-and-real-work/


    A3 International Robot Safety Conference:
    https://www.automate.org/events/international-robot-safety-conference


    Connect with Aaron Prather:
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/amprather


    Explore A3:
    https://www.automate.org
    Show more Show less
    16 min
  • China’s Robot Lead, Amazon’s $100M Facility and Vogue’s Humanoids

    China’s Robot Lead, Amazon’s $100M Facility and Vogue’s Humanoids
    2 Oct 2026

    Five million industrial robots are working in factories worldwide. Amazon is expanding the manufacturing infrastructure behind its robotics network. Vogue is putting humanoids on a runway. Three different stories raise the same business question: when should you buy, build, or borrow a robot?


    In Episode 6 of The Business of Automation, Aaron Prather, Director of Market Intelligence at A3, examines what the latest robotics headlines reveal about deployment, scale and business value.


    The IFR’s World Robotics 2026 report shows a record 603,000 industrial robot installations in 2025, with China accounting for 59% of the total. The United States moved into second place, but the gap remains enormous. Aaron breaks down what those numbers measure and why industrial robots, warehouse robots, and humanoids need to be understood separately.


    Amazon’s planned investment of more than $100 million in Greenwood, Indiana, illustrates a different strategy: bringing more manufacturing capabilities in-house to support an expanding fulfillment and robotics network. Aaron explores when automation demand makes building your own infrastructure a business decision worth considering.


    Finally, Vogue World’s Unitree humanoids prompt a discussion about marketing spectacle, audience expectations, and the camera robots doing useful work behind the scenes. The question running through all three stories is practical: what job does the robot do, and how does that job justify the investment?

    LINKS AND RESOURCES

    Read The Business of Automation on Substack:
    https://thebusinessofautomation.substack.com

    Aaron Prather’s analysis of the IFR World Robotics 2026 report:
    https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/five-numbers-explain-where-global-robotics-heading-aaron-prather-lkt5e

    Aaron Prather’s A3 analysis, “Amazon Used to Buy Robots. Now It Builds Them.”
    https://www.automate.org/robotics/industry-insights/amazon-used-to-buy-robots-now-it-builds-them

    The story behind the Unitree robots at Vogue World Milano:
    https://www.vogue.com/article/the-story-behind-the-runway-robots-at-vogue-world-2026-milano

    Explore A3’s free Signal reports:
    https://www.automate.org/market-intelligence/signal

    Connect with Aaron Prather:
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/amprather

    Explore A3:
    https://www.automate.org
    Show more Show less
    16 min
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet