From optimisation to autonomy: Top five manufacturing automation trends for 2025 (Part 2)
Author : Fernando Colás, OMRON Industrial Automation Europe
17 January 2025
In Part 2 of this two-part 2025 automation outlook feature, company CEO Fernando Colás outlines key trends that OMRON believes will shape the future of industrial automation in the coming years.
Trend #4: Energy efficiency through smarter product and component design
Industries are facing increasing pressure to reduce their environmental footprint. Traditional silicon-based power devices have long dominated industrial systems, but they come with limitations in efficiency and size. OMRON’s investment in GaN (Gallium Nitride) technology addresses these challenges by delivering high-performance power conversion with minimal energy loss. GaN devices allow for greater power handling capabilities within a much smaller footprint, resulting in miniaturised components that require less energy to operate while also cutting down on heat generation.
This is especially interesting for industries like automotive manufacturing, where lighter, more energy-efficient components are essential for the production of electric vehicles (EVs).
Fernando Colás, CEO, OMRON Industrial Automation Europe
Trend #5: Ethical AI and transparent decision-making
As AI becomes more embedded in industrial systems, ethical considerations around its use are gaining importance. In manufacturing, this means creating systems where AI-driven decisions can be audited and understood, ensuring that companies maintain control over their operations while benefiting from the efficiencies that AI brings. Ethical AI is expected to play an increasingly important role as factories become more autonomous. Ensuring transparency in AI decision-making will be critical to maintaining trust between companies, employees, and stakeholders.
As we move further into the Autonomous Society, the way we approach industrial automation is fundamentally evolving. Predictive maintenance, adaptive control, and co-creation are realities reshaping manufacturing today. With every innovation, from real-time data analytics to advanced material science, we’re not just improving processes – we’re enabling systems to think, learn, and act on their own. Together, we need to build smarter, more resilient manufacturing systems for a complex, ever-changing world.
For more details, see OMRON’s Integrated Report.
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