Are you going to Automate?

I don’t refer to the replacement of human effort with mechanical, electrical and fluid power systems, but to the renamed and rebranded Vision and Motion Control show. This biennial shindig has been going on at Rosemont, out by O’Hare in Greater Chicagoland, for as long as I can remember. I’ve always found it a good, if small, show, which I suspect is what led Jeff Burnstein of the Automation Technologies Council to look for a way to do things differently.

In this case, “differently” means moving to McCormick Place, (which is downtown Chicago, for those not familiar with the metropolis,) co-locating with ProMat®, the material handling show, and adopting the name “Automate.”

I can see the logic of going in with the material handling people, after all, what are robots if not material handling systems? But attendance numbers will be the real test. And for those you’ll have to wait until March 2011.

By the way, thanks are due to the Plexample blog for letting me of this event. Find details under “Automate is New Name for International Robots, Vision & Motion Control Show.”