Robotics Companies to Showcase Technologies at  Waves of Innovation Event

More than 20 robotic and automation companies are set to showcase their technologies at the Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington, Texas, in a bid to attract talent amid ongoing labor shortages.

Despite the Dallas metro adding more than 10,000 manufacturing jobs over the past 10 months, the region still has more job vacancies than applicants.

“Historically low labor participation rates in our area means manufacturers are often unable to staff their shifts,” said Nick Armenta, regional manager of Oregon-based engineering company Olympus Controls. “In Texas, there are currently 0.8 unemployed persons per job opening, a gap that is especially pronounced in manufacturing.

To fill this labor gap, Olympus Controls has set up the Waves of Innovation event inviting robotics professionals to showcase their technologies at AT&T stadium. The event will feature live demonstrations of new automation and robotics solutions presented by “veteran problem solvers ready to discuss attendees’ manufacturing challenges.”

The event is also intended to facilitate networking opportunities among industry members and enable collaboration across industries.

Exhibitors will include Panasonic, Zebra Robotics, University of Texas at Arlington and Robotiq, with sponsorship from Mitsubishi Electric and Universal Robots.

Related:MassRobotics Launches Robotics Accelerator Program

“Knowing what’s out there makes our automation journey easier,” said Scott Paulk, engineering manager at Texas-based Alexandria Industries. “We sometimes struggle with hiring skilled labor, automation helps offset this by enabling us to reallocate resources. 

“Another benefit of robots is they get the younger generation intrigued; this has no doubt led to employees selecting our companies over a potential competitor.”

The event is set for Nov. 15. Technologies on display will include collaborative robots handling sanding and polishing tasks, vision-guided robotic arms and automated machine-loading robots.