“The more we can do with it, then the more likely the humanoids are going to take off and be adopted.”

Connectors rarely get top billing. Nobody designs a device around a connector — yet these humble components increasingly determine whether a smart factory, an edge deployment, or a humanoid robot works. As manufacturers push more data, more power, and more intelligence through the same shrinking footprint, the demands on interconnect technology are evolving as fast as the systems they serve.

For this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing’s Aaron Hand sits down with Ed Garstkiewicz, HARTING’s Senior Business Development Manager for Emerging Markets, at Automate 2026 in Chicago to talk about the fast-changing world of industrial connectivity. They dig into smart connectors that add sensors, status indicators, and intelligence right at the connection point; the constant balancing act between miniaturization and ruggedization; and why connectors may be one of the keys to making humanoid robots lighter, more efficient, and easier to repair.

“A humanoid robot is the perfect example for the need for smart connectivity,” Garstikiewicz notes. “The wiring and connectors make up 5 to 10% of the weight of a humanoid. So if we can add functionality to the connector and reduce the need for other systems, we’re lowering the weight and improving the efficiency of the humanoid robot.” This could be a deciding factor in how quickly humanoids get adopted.

If you’ve never given much thought to what’s at the end of the cable, this conversation makes the case that the connector is quietly becoming one of the smartest components on the factory floor.

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"AI needs data, and industrial data is not available on the general internet." 
 
“It's not like you do either AI or manufacturing. If you're smart, you optimize what you have. You would be amazed how much you can gain by just retrofitting your old asset.” 

AI is finally moving “from PowerPoints to the real world” on the factory floor, but it can’t deliver when fed siloed, proprietary data. For Schneider Electric’s Andre Marino, the foundation comes first: open, software-defined automation that harmonizes industrial data, so manufacturers can train AI models on their own operations instead of buying technology and getting frustrated. 

In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing’s Jimmy Carroll sits down with Marino at Automate 2026 in Chicago to talk through what it takes for manufacturers to modernize and compete — from the hyperscale “AI factories” racing to add capacity to the small and midsize companies that make up 85% of the U.S. manufacturing base. 

The conversation covers the growing competition for energy between AI data centers and factories and why the answer isn’t adding capacity alone while digging into digital twins for upgrading lines with minimal downtime, closing the skills gap by drawing IT talent into the OT world, and a task-first (not form-first) take on humanoid robots and world models. Additionally, the discussion covers what Marino would like to see in U.S. robotics legislation, and his playbook for smaller manufacturers: know what you’re solving for, digitize, automate, optimize — and repeat.

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“What we bring to the table is we understand how to take the data, do real-time compute, and turn it into knowledge. So, you got raw data coming in, you got knowledge coming out.” 

Modern machine vision and imaging systems can throw off a firehose of data far faster than a general-purpose computer can absorb it. Concurrent EDA founder Ray Hoare, PhD, has spent two decades on the other side of that firehose, taking algorithms and moving them into electronics so the compute happens right at the sensor, in real time. 

In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing’s Jimmy Carroll sits down with Dr. Hoare to talk through the latest in real-time processing. Dr. Hoare discusses how AI has reshaped the way his team builds — including generating 600,000 lines of code in a single month — and why he keeps telling engineers to “dream big” and prototype what used to feel impossible. 

The conversation covers when GPUs like NVIDIA Jetson win versus when FPGAs are the only option, such as scenarios involving submillisecond latency, 1,000+ fps cameras, and 50-to-100 Gbps data rates in real-world high-speed applications from additive manufacturing melt-pool monitoring to laser tracking and 3D metrology. The discussion also covers open smart cameras, MIPI sensors, image signal processing techniques, and how the same “firehose” thinking applies to RFSoCs for defense; time-sensitive networking as “Ethernet 2.0”; and a UDP/IP core that moves data from programmable logic to Python far more efficiently than Linux. Dr. Hoare closes with the diagnostic questions he asks every customer: where is your data coming from, what are you trying to extract, and where is it going? 

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“The end goal for a lot of clients is this dream of a lights-out factory. Before you get there, there’s a stepping stone in between — and it’s this connected factory.” 

Autonomous mobile robots spent years confined to warehouse aisles. Now, driven by a persistent labor shortage and a wave of AI, they’re moving into the heart of the factory — handling the material movement between “islands of operation” that people increasingly don’t want to do, and taking on mission-critical roles once considered too risky to automate. 

In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing’s Jimmy Carroll sits down with Rockwell Automation’s Sheldon Zimmerman (Global Head of AMR Sales) and Isabelle Durso (Business Manager, AMRs) at Automate 2026 in Chicago to unpack where mobile robotics is really headed and what it takes to get robots up and running on a plant floor. 

The conversation covers how AI is reshaping AMRs from the sensor up to the orchestration layer, the rise of mobile manipulation (and where humanoids do and don’t fit), why simulation and digital twins are becoming essential for de-risking deployments, and the real hurdles to adoption: IT/OT integration, physical infrastructure, and the brownfield-versus-greenfield divide. Zimmerman and Durso also make the case for starting small with pilots, the evolving safety standards that let robots and people share a floor, and why the “connected factory” — MES and ERP talking through a single orchestration layer — is the practical stepping stone toward lights-out manufacturing. 

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This episode of Manufacturing Matters features Winn Hardin in conversation with Denise Chludzinski, vice president of business development at Miller Resource Group, a leading recruiter specializing in food and industrial automation manufacturing sectors. They discuss current talent trends, labor market challenges, and growth opportunities in manufacturing for 2026. 

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"Every Burro turns on with 12 eyes … and if one robot makes a mistake in a train depot yard in Australia, or an airport in South America, or doing vegetation management alongside a road in Pennsylvania, the entire fleet learns from that lesson.”

For years, autonomous robots largely stayed indoors, confined to the predictable aisles of warehouses and factories. Leveraging his experience growing up working on a farm, Burro Co-Founder and CEO Charlie Andersen sought to develop rugged autonomous robots that work safely and effectively alongside people in the messy, ever-changing conditions of the great outdoors. 

In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing’s Jimmy Carroll sits down with Andersen and Burro marketing coordinator Shelby Allen to explore how the company went from “three guys and a dog named Meg” working out of an unheated barn to a fleet of roughly 750 robots that haul, tow, mow, spray, and patrol across agricultural and industrial sites worldwide. 

The conversation covers why building autonomy that works near people outdoors is far harder than automating big machines or indoor warehouses, and how “physical AI” adds a crucial third leg — training data — to the traditional hardware-and-software stack. Anderson explains how a larger fleet means more “eyes on the world,” compounding learning across every unit, and why the company’s surprising surge of industrial demand (now roughly a third of its fleet) prompted its first appearance at Automate 2026. Additional topics include the Burro Grande 44, the “Swiss cheese” model of safety, the role of large language models and voice commands on mobile robots, user privacy and data sovereignty, and why Andersen believes the U.S. has a major opportunity to lead as physical AI meets outdoor work. 

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"Computational design and 3D printing go together like peanut butter and chocolate."

For most of its history, 3D printing was considered speculative, risky, even fringe. Today, says Eric Utley, 3D printing applications engineering manager at Protolabs, it's boring, and that's exactly the point. 

In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing's Jimmy Carroll sits down with Utley, a 16-year veteran of the additive manufacturing industry, to explore how 3D printing has quietly evolved from a rapid prototyping curiosity into mainstream production technology, and where it's headed next. 

The conversation covers how Fortune 500 companies like GE and HP helped shift additive manufacturing toward end-use production, why the explosion of application-specific materials is one of the clearest signs of the industry's maturation, and how customers are increasingly designing parts specifically for 3D printing rather than as a stepping stone to other processes. Additional topics include the growing role of AI and computational design, how hobbyists are quietly driving innovation, and why algorithmic-based design processes paired with digital manufacturing are creating new opportunities.

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Artificial intelligence is everywhere in manufacturing right now. But for many plant teams, it still feels more like a concept than a practical tool. In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, Aaron Hand sits down with Alex Sandoval, founder and CEO of Allie, to break down what AI actually looks like on the factory floor. 

Sandoval explains how AI co-pilots can connect to PLCs, quality systems, and maintenance data to act like a 24/7 expert supervisor — surfacing problems before they cause downtime and guiding operators toward faster, better decisions. But the technology itself isn’t the biggest hurdle. From disconnected machines and unclear data ownership to the cultural challenges of trust and fear, most manufacturers aren’t failing because of AI. They’re getting stuck before it can deliver value. 

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“One of my biggest complaints with public policy is we're too reactive. And because technology now changes so rapidly, if you're reactive, by the time you have a policy in place, it's outdated.” -Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan 
 
The United States accounts for just 9% of global robotics installations while China accounts for 54% — a gap that Congresswoman McClellan believes demands a proactive response from Washington. That's the driving force behind the National Commission on Robotics Act (HR 7334), a bipartisan bill that would establish an 18-member Commission on American Leadership in Robotics to assess U.S. competitiveness, workforce needs, and supply chain security in robotics and AI. 

In this episode of the Manufacturing Matters podcast, TECH B2B Marketing's Winn Hardin and Jimmy Carroll are joined by Congresswoman McClellan, U.S. Representative for Virginia's 4th Congressional District, to discuss why now is the time for government to get ahead of the curve on robotics and AI policy — rather than react to it after the fact. 

The conversation highlights the key pillars any national robotics policy must address, from workforce development and reskilling to supply chain resilience and the ethical guardrails needed as AI and robotics increasingly converge. Congresswoman McClellan also discusses the makeup of the proposed commission, why its recommendations will need to be revisited far more frequently than traditional legislation allows, and why winning the AI race at the expense of communities, energy, and resources would be a Pyrrhic victory. Additional topics include real-world examples of robotics driving safety and efficiency — from bottling facilities to Amazon distribution centers — and how Congress can play a meaningful role in shaping the future of automation without stifling innovation. 

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"Engineers can now start thinking about cell design not from the cages, but from the actual work."  

A significant if not obvious factor that all companies implementing robotic systems must consider is safety. While robotic guarding has been the industry standard for years, Sensory Robotics COO Mark Gagas believes another way offers more flexibility and space for manufacturers. After 19 months of rigorous testing, his company now has UL certification to prove it. 

In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing's Jimmy Carroll sits down with Gagas to discuss how Sensory Robotics' SR-1 system uses 3D vision to provide 100% human detection coverage, replace hard guarding with an intelligent, monitored space around the robot — allowing workers and machines to operate together naturally, at full speed and full payload. 

The conversation covers what the newly achieved certification means for customers and the broader market, how advances in 3D time-of-flight sensing and edge computing made a system like SR-1 possible, and why fenceless factory design could unlock significant gains in floor space and productivity.  

Gagas also walks through the company’s expanding product line, including a DoD-funded mobile platform, SR-2— which embeds safety directly into the arm — and SR Insight, a data layer that adds productivity dashboards, human ergonomics analysis, and live risk assessment monitoring on top of the core safety infrastructure. 

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