Metrology Driving Automation and AI at EMO 2025
Automation, artificial intelligence, and integrated metrology took center stage at EMO 2025, where more than 80,000 visitors explored how advanced production technologies are shaping the future of manufacturing. The world’s largest metalworking trade fair hosted over 1,600 exhibitors from 45 countries, with measurement and data-driven quality assurance playing a pivotal role in the drive for smarter, more competitive factories.
For five days, Hannover became the hub of global manufacturing innovation, highlighting the close link between automation, data, and dimensional accuracy. As Carl Martin Welcker, General Commissioner of EMO 2025, noted: “There is a profusion of smart and impressive technical solutions. This EMO has convincingly demonstrated that. For them to be effective, the booster engine of investment now really needs to fire. Many projects are in the pipeline after three years of investment restraint, but the uncertainty in the political sphere continues to put the brakes on investment.”
Automation as a Quality Driver
With half of surveyed visitors looking for ways to boost productivity through automation, it was clear that quality control and measurement technologies are increasingly being designed to work seamlessly with robotic systems and AI. Automated in-line inspection, sensor-driven monitoring, and closed-loop feedback were frequent themes across exhibition halls.
“Automation is everywhere here and is going to make a big difference,” said Aaron Morrill, a CNC mechanic from the USA. His perspective was echoed by robot suppliers, including Fanuc Europe. CEO Klaus Winkelmann emphasized: “We also see that robots will become increasingly important in the machine tool industry. Industrial robots will coexist with human operators. In the future, they will provide the most efficient solutions.”
AI, Sensors, and the Digital Thread
Artificial intelligence and sensor-based measurement were heavily featured, underlining the vital role of metrology in digital manufacturing. AI-driven data processing is increasingly being applied to inspection, enabling real-time adjustments and higher-quality outputs.
Jan Otoupakik, CEO of Czech startup 4dot Mechatronics, captured this trend: “We see added volume in processes where all the possibilities for processing data from sensors are utilised. AI is useful for this and improves quality in the factory.”
The popularity of daily P.O.P Talks underscored how manufacturers are embracing AI for not only productivity and efficiency but also quality improvement. Automation, metrology, and AI together are becoming inseparable pillars of smart production.
Sustainability Through Precision
Metrology also plays a key role in enabling more sustainable manufacturing by reducing waste and optimizing energy use. Professor Berend Denkena from Leibniz University Hannover shared a clear example: “We are working on various solutions. One very important example is to reduce the energy consumption of production systems, for example by reducing the coolant flow so that only as much coolant as necessary is used, rather than as much as possible. That was the strategy in the past. This allows us to save up to 95 per cent of the pump energy, electrical energy and up to 60 per cent of the total energy consumption of the production system. So, this is a big step forward.”
Such strategies demonstrate how precision process control, enabled by measurement and monitoring, can directly contribute to sustainability goals.
Despite market uncertainty, international visitors demonstrated strong intent to invest in automation and advanced technologies. Confidence was particularly high outside Europe, with two-thirds of non-European visitors planning investments, compared with less than half in Germany.
EMO as a Metrology and Automation Trend Barometer
The event once again cemented EMO’s status as a world’s leading trade fair for production technology and a key barometer of trends. As Dr. Markus Heering, Executive Director of the VDW, concluded: “Once again, it has proven possible to attract international market leaders in metalworking to EMO and address the new topics in industrial production. As a result, it has consolidated its position as the world’s leading trade fair and barometer of trends.”
With EMO 2027 already scheduled for Milan, the role of integrated metrology, automation, and AI will undoubtedly continue to grow as manufacturing seeks higher productivity, quality, and sustainability.
