The industrial automation landscape is shifting rapidly, and this week’s developments from CES 2026 show we’re moving from proof-of-concept to real-world industrial AI applications. The most compelling story comes from Siemens, who unveiled their eXplore Tour – a mobile industrial environment that lets plant managers see industrial AI automation working before committing to major facility changes.
Siemens Brings Industrial AI to Your Doorstep
Chris Stevens from Siemens Digital Industries hit the nail on the head with their eXplore Tour concept. Any of us who’ve tried to sell automation upgrades know the biggest hurdle isn’t technical – it’s getting leadership to approve changes without seeing tangible results first. The mobile showcase addresses that classic chicken-and-egg problem by demonstrating industrial AI automation in action before you invest in your own facility.
This approach makes perfect sense when you consider how risk-averse manufacturing operations have become. Nobody wants to be the plant manager who approved a million-dollar automation overhaul that didn’t deliver. Being able to walk through a working example and see the actual productivity gains removes that fear factor entirely.
Edge AI Gets Serious About Industrial Applications
Meanwhile, the semiconductor world is finally catching up to what we’ve needed in industrial environments for years. NXP’s new eIQ Agentic AI Framework represents a significant step toward making edge-based industrial AI automation accessible to more than just the biggest manufacturers with dedicated AI teams.
What caught my attention is how they’re targeting both expert and novice developers. Too often, industrial AI solutions require PhD-level expertise to implement properly. If NXP can truly simplify agentic AI development while maintaining the security requirements we need in industrial settings, this could democratize advanced automation capabilities across smaller manufacturers.
Ambarella’s new Developer Zone follows a similar philosophy – removing barriers to edge AI deployment. Combined with advances like Bosch Sensortec’s BMI5 motion sensor platform, we’re seeing the infrastructure pieces fall into place for more sophisticated automation systems that can make real-time decisions without relying on cloud connectivity.
Even the semiconductor manufacturing sector is embracing this trend, with one case study showing how robotic automation breathed new life into an aging facility. It’s a reminder that you don’t need greenfield sites to implement modern automation – sometimes the best ROI comes from upgrading existing operations.
The question now becomes: with mobile showcases making industrial AI more tangible and edge computing platforms making implementation more accessible, what’s stopping your facility from taking the next step toward Industry 4.0? The technology barriers are rapidly disappearing – the real challenge might just be organizational readiness.