New Product Roundup: Emerson, PIA Automation, ABB Robotics

• Emerson launched AI capabilities within its Guardian Digital Platform that aim to help users monitor systems more efficiently. 
• PIA Automation launched a new business service that adds humanoid robots to manufacturing environments as it expands its robot capacities to European markets. 
• ABB Robotics is partnering with Jacobi Robotics to integrate AI software with robotics hardware to bring AI to mixed-case palletizing.  

Editor’s note: Smart Industry New Product Roundups are digests of manufacturing technology offerings recently brought to market.

Emerson announced new AI capabilities within its digital platform, PIA Automation launched a business service that includes humanoid robots, and ABB Robotics is partnering with Jacobi Robotics to integrate AI into palletizing technology.  

Emerson announced updates to its Guardian Digital Platform, including new AI capabilities and customizations that aim to help teams monitor systems more efficiently. 

The new capabilities bring Emerson’s automation software into a unified platform to deliver insights and operational improvement. For example, Guardian Virtual Advisor has natural-language guidance across Emerson’s platforms, including AMS and the Ovation and DeltaV automation platforms. The software also helps teams troubleshoot faster, according to Emerson.  

See also: Physical AI in manufacturing: Assistant, replacement or something in between? 

A new, customizable dashboard provides insights tailored to operators, engineers, maintenance teams, and leaders. By adding or eliminating widgets to meet their specific needs, users ensure the correct, critical information is at hand as soon as they log in to the Guardian Digital Platform. 

The platform also strengthens lifecycle intelligence through management and support capabilities. The enhanced Knowledge Base Article module helps users navigate information and avoid disruptions. New integrated call support workflows allow users to monitor the resolution process from start to finish, according to the company.

PIA Automation announced its new business segment, Embodied AI and Humanoid Robotics, that aims to combine the company’s expertise in AI, robotics and advanced manufacturing. The move expands PIA’s automation technology to include humanoid robots. 

The company is collaborating with robotics company AGIBOT within the joint venture Joybot Manufacture to develop and industrialize humanoid robotics. The partnership covers the humanoid robotics value chain and AI. 

See also: AI forces companies to relearn what ‘value’ means, cut low-level work for humans 

PIA also plans to establish its own manufacturing capacities in the European market, focusing on three products:  

• P-Bot: A service-oriented humanoid robotic unit for banks, shopping centers and events, capable of multimodal interaction. 
• I-Bot: A humanoid industrial robot with a mobile platform, designed for smart factories. It can collect data, support precision manufacturing, and navigate production environments. 
• A-Bot: A compact humanoid system for research, education and interactive applications.

Jacobi Robotics announced a collaboration with ABB Robotics, which will integrate Jacobi’s OmniPalletizer AI software within its portfolio of robotics hardware and software. The collaboration aims to give ABB Robotics’ network of system integrators a way to deploy AI-powered mixed-case palletizing without facility redesign. 

System integrators can purchase Jacobi’s OmniPalletizer software, integrated within ABB Robotics’ industrial-grade robots, directly from ABB Robotics, adding site-specific elements as needed. 

See also: Physical AI in manufacturing: Assistant, replacement or something in between? 

According to the companies, the collaboration aims to produce key benefits, including: 

• Premium hardware and software: Jacobi’s AI software, paired with ABB’s technology, gives integrators the benefit of proven technology. 
• Brownfield-ready deployment: OmniPalletizer cells drop into existing conveyor lanes alongside live operations. 
• Digital-twin validation: Every deployment is validated in advance using Jacobi’s proprietary simulation on the customer’s actual order history, so throughput, pallet quality and ROI are established before a purchase order is placed. 
• Annual savings per site: Automating mixed-case palletizing delivers measurable savings across direct labor, store-level labor, freight costs, product damage and injury-related expenses, according to Jacobi. 
• Improvement within the platform: OmniPalletizer improves continuously through fleetwide learning and regular software updates.