ANN ARBOR, MI - April 25, 2017. The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) announced that the Automate 2017 show and conference broke all previous attendance records with show attendance of 12,960 people, which is a 37 percent increase over 2015. With the collocated ProMat and ProFood Tech attendees taking advantage of free entry, well over 20,000 people visited Automate. The show is North America's premier biennial event devoted to leading-edge automation technology and business innovation.Â

Automate featured more than 400 exhibitors displaying their latest technologies and services, including global suppliers of robotics, motion control, motors, vision systems, metrology, software and system integration services for enterprises large and small. In addition, over 1,000 attendees participated in the 120+ Automate conference sessions, which were held in conjunction with the International Symposium on Robotics - Americas, a greater than 90 percent increase over 2015.Â
"Automate has firmly established itself as the leading automation show in North America," said Jeff Burnstein, president of A3. "This year's record attendance demonstrates the growing global demand for the entire ecosystem of automation technologies and services."Â
Automate features key automation industry business leaders and has become the primary event for breaking automation news. The show opened with a jobs forum titled "Working in the Automation Age," featuring speakers from A3, Amazon, Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute, RAMTEC Ohio, and FANUC. In conjunction, A3 released a white paper exploring how companies like General Motors and Amazon continue to grow their workforce even as they add automation technologies.Â
First-Ever Chinese ParticipationÂ
Automate 2017 also garnered increased international participation. For the first time, 13 Chinese automation companies exhibited, reflecting China's dramatic growth in robotics implementation and development. A first-ever joint US-China Robotics Forum brought together leaders from the Robotic Industries Association (RIA) and its counterpart, the China Robot Industry Alliance (CRIA).Â
Launch Pad Startup CompetitionÂ
A3 announces Apellix as the winner of the Automate Launch Pad Startup Competition. Sponsored by GE, the competition provided eight innovative startup companies with an opportunity to generate awareness of their technology and find new sources of funding. Apellix offers a Platform-as-a-Service for industrial workers performing critical but dangerous tasks. The patent-pending Apellix Worker Bee robotics system physically interacts with and modifies its environment to move workers out of harm's way. The $10,000 prize will allow Apellix to bring their product to market sooner.Â
Automate 2017 ReflectionsÂ
Automate brings together business leaders from every facet of the automation industry providing opportunities to meet customers, network and showcase solutions.Â
"Automate was a great show," said Staubli robotics division manager, Sebastien Schmitt. "Staubli couldn't hope for a better event to meet new prospects. The customer traffic in our booth the entire show was excellent!"Â

An Automate 2017 highlight video can be viewed online at http://www.automateshow.com.Â

Date Set for Automate 2019Â

A3 has also announced the date and location for Automate 2019. It takes place April 8-11 at Chicago's McCormick Place.Â

"A3 anticipates that demand for exhibition space for Automate 2019 will be even higher than prior years," added Burnstein. "We expect to run out of space well before the event."Â
Participants and exhibitors can find more information about Automate 2019 at the event website: www.automateshow.com.Â

About Association for Advancing Automation (A3)Â
The Association for Advancing Automation is the global advocate for the benefits of automating. A3 promotes automation technologies and ideas that transform the way business is done. A3 is the umbrella group for Robotic Industries Association (RIA), AIA - Advancing Vision + Imaging, and Motion Control & Motor Association (MCMA). RIA, AIA, and MCMA combined represent over 1,000 automation manufacturers, component suppliers, system integrators, end users, research groups and consulting firms from throughout the world that drive automation forward. For more information, please visit our websites: A3 - www.A3automate.org. RIA - www.robotics.org. AIA - www.visiononline.org. MCMA - www.motioncontrolonline.org.Â