Manufacturers installed 542,000 industrial robots worldwide in 2024, with Asia accounting for 74% of new deployments, as production shifts from fixed-sequence automation toward self-optimising factories that combine robotics, machine vision, digital twins and edge AI. The World Economic Forum’s Global Lighthouse Network reached 238 manufacturing and supply-chain sites in 2026; one Singapore lighthouse running more than 1,000 product variants reported 43% higher output per labour hour and 35% fewer defects after deploying 50-plus digital and AI solutions. Vendors are now positioning closed-loop optimisation rather than standalone automation.
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