By Will Healy, Director of Product and Industry, Teradyne Robotics Group
Electronics is an industry characterized by rapid progress and constant pressure to innovate. Customer expectations shift quickly; the need for quality is completely non-negotiable, and production models are increasingly high-mix, low-volume. Efficiency is essential, but these same dynamics have also impacted the industry’s approach to automation.
The sector has a strong history of technology adoption, but many continue to underutilize robotics in their production. This is rarely because of technological limitations. From our experience with Universal Robots and MiR customers, it often stems instead from assumptions about the tasks that automation is suited for. Leaders know that automation is obvious when it comes to repetitive tasks with infrequent changeovers but sometimes still default to labor when production demands are more variable. When components are delicate, as they often are in electronics, many assume that work must remain entirely manual.
Three Barriers Shaping Automation Adoption in Electronics
A 2025 survey of manufacturers in Europe and the United States highlighted three core concerns that frequently hold electronics companies back from further automation.
First, there is the perception that advanced robotics cannot meet the extreme precision and consistency required in electronics assembly. Even small deviations can affect performance or reliability, making manufacturers understandably cautious.
Second, high-mix, low-volume production can make automation feel impractical. When product variants change frequently, many fear that automation will create rigidity rather than flexibility. ‑mix, low‑volume production can make automation feel impractical. When product variants change frequently, many fear that automation will create rigidity rather than flexibility.
Third, handling fragile components remains a significant worry. Connectors, microcomponents, and thin substrates require careful, repeatable manipulation—something traditionally associated with skilled human operators. Components and thin substrates require careful, repeatable manipulation—something traditionally associated with skilled human operators.
All understandable concerns reflecting a complex sector, but they do not reflect the capabilities of today’s automation technologies. As a result, many providers continue to rely on manual labor, missing potential gains in productivity, quality, and competitiveness.
Recent Advances Have Changed What Is Possible in Automation
Recent advances in industrial collaborative robots (cobots) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) have changed what’s possible when it comes to automating electronics. Cobots are designed to be modular, adaptable, and capable of handling delicate operations with repeatable accuracy. They can be deployed for short production runs and reconfigured quickly for new variants.
This means automation is no longer restricted to high‑throughput lines. Companies are seeing returns from deploying automation even in areas previously considered too variable or too sensitive. In many cases, the benefits extend beyond productivity and include reduced ergonomic strain, higher quality output, reduced waste, and better use of skilled labor.
Integration Without Major Disruption
A major obstacle for many manufacturers is the fear that automation will result in downtime or significant infrastructure changes. However, integration has become far more straightforward in recent years. Digital simulation tools now allow manufacturers to plan layouts and test scenarios virtually before any equipment is installed. Partnerships between automation suppliers and industrial software providers like have also made it easier to deploy standardized, interoperable solutions.
In practical terms, this means cobots can be added to existing workstations with minimal restructuring. In electrical workshops, they increasingly support tasks such as screwdriving, gluing, soldering, precision insertion, pressing, and bin picking. In prefabrication environments, they may hold parts steady for final torquing or bring wires together for manual crimping. Additional tools—vision systems, torque-controlled screwdrivers, or quality‑inspection add‑ons—can be integrated as needed, depending on the complexity of the job.
Mobility as a Force Multiplier
Beyond fixed workstations, mobility has emerged as a useful complement to other types of automation. AMRs can be used to move pallets of raw materials, ferry components between floors, or link separate stages of production.
From our work with electronics manufacturers, we sometimes see real thought given to the automation of stationary work and less consideration given to the automation of tasks around the margin, including the tasks done by mobile workers. AMRs excel in this space, and when combined with cobots to form mobile manipulators, they bring material handling and part manipulation together in a single, flexible platform, supplementing the work done by hybrid workers today.
Shaping the Next Chapter of Electronics Manufacturing
The electronics industry is moving quickly toward more adaptive, data-driven operations. Predictive analytics, digital twins, and what we refer to as physical AI are becoming part of everyday production environments. These technologies are not replacing human expertise; they’re enabling teams to focus on decisions and tasks where human judgment matters most.
Industry 5.0 builds on this by emphasizing collaboration, sustainability, and resilience. Automation—especially when designed to be flexible—supports all three. It helps manufacturers respond to demand fluctuations, reduces physical strain for workers, and stabilizes output quality even when labor markets are tight.
For electronics companies, the question should no longer be whether automation is relevant to their needs. The question is how quickly they can explore what modern automation can do across the full range of production and warehousing tasks. Those who integrate flexible automation in the form of cobots and AMRs will have a considerable advantage in staying competitive in an industry defined by complexity.
