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London – July 15, 2025 – Hexagon, a global leader in measurement technology, has published its 2025 flagship report, “Future of Robotics 2035: Insights from Industry Experts.” Thinking-stimulating analysis shows the accelerated fusion of artificial intelligence and robotics and what it takes to thrive through transformation, the workforce, businesses and society.
Based on expert interviews from automation leaders, global economic insights, and findings, this report uncovers pivotal turning points. According to results from Forrester’s Automation Survey, in 2024, 82% of organizations increased their automation investment over the past year due to Genai’s capabilities1. Furthermore, the top 10 emerging technologies of 2025 point out that over 25% of global automation leaders across all robot categories accelerated their investment in robots as a result of GEN AI2 in 2024. Still, as the Hexagon’s panel of experts highlights, the challenges continue from costly integration with legacy systems to the urgent need to enhance human talent.
“This report clearly shows that the future will not be a robot-human conflict. It is about robots working with humans.” “We believe that the most resilient and competitive organizations treat autonomy as a foothold of human potential and not an alternative.”
Heading into 2035, the report sketches three possible trajectories for autonomy. One vision, called the “Robot Renaissance,” casts robots that reconstruct every corner of industry and service. However, expert contributors of the report agree that the so-called “managed mesh” economy is more likely. In this scenario, we can expect interoperable robots to handle roughly half of the daily industrial and service tasks by 2035. This allows the robotics system to be quietly integrated every day, allowing the workforce to evolve without sudden, drastic changes.
Key themes and insights from the report:
Design for dignity is at the heart. The roadmap needs to embed empathy, inclusion and transparency from the pilot phase to post-deployment support. The workforce is cautious, but curious. Robotic companies can stand out with empathy and focus on people, making them stand out. New developments are welcomed with enthusiasm, from selfies with inspection bots to reskilling a pipeline to unlock new roles when they are human-centered and transparent. Integration remains a major obstacle, with 41% of companies citing it as difficult to embed robots in existing systems. And that means the robot factory industry needs to evolve with confidence and repeat together like a living relationship. Autonomy becomes economically essential and not an option. Robotics investments are surged in regions facing the sharpest demographic decline and operational headwinds.
“Humans are adaptive, creative and manufacturers, not product-driven AI alternatives,” says Dr. Juliet Aiken, organizational psychologist at Cusucere + Volta. “This report reflects where human strengths outweigh automation, and outlines the impact on the workforce from multiple angles, creating a rich landscape of the future. People with humanoid robots that enhance their work and are supported by AI that will not replace us.”
Featuring contributions from industry leaders, the complete report shares details of what to take technological, economic and socially to reach a transformative future.
For a complete list of contributors to the report, see below.
Dr. Juliet Aiken, Organisational Psychologist, Cupucere + Volta Burkhard Boeckem, Chief Technology Officer, Hexagon Amit Goel, Director of Product Management, Autonomous Machines, Nvidia Anthony Hartke, VDC Project Manager, Turner Construction Spencer Huang, Product Line Manager, Robotics, Nvidia Mario Mauer, Mauer, Mario Mauer, Global Mauer, Grown Mauer, Global Mauer, Grown Mauer, Grown Mauer, Grown Mauer, Grown Mauerer, Christopher Whar, Robots Division at Maraud Hexagon, Innovation Manager, Turner Construction Chase Williams, Senior Consultant, Technisense Lucas Ziegler, Robotics Evangelist
About the hexagon
Hexagon is a global leader in measurement technology. We offer confidence that key industries rely on building, navigating and innovation. From microns to Mars, our solutions ensure productivity, quality, safety and sustainability for everything from manufacturing and construction to mining and autonomous systems. Hexagon has approximately 24,800 employees in 50 countries, with net sales of around 5.4 billion euros.
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