HowToRobot and Robotics Australia Group partner on platform to encourage robot adoption

HowToRobot and Robotics Australia Group have partnered to accelerate automation adoption in Australia, where robot density is 134 robots per 10,000 manufacturing employees versus the world average of 162. The collaboration will provide a country-specific version of HowToRobot's platform, which uses AI to help companies describe automation projects and build business cases, potentially adding $170 billion to $600 billion annually to Australia's GDP by 2030, according to the National Robotics Strategy.

Australia lags behind most other industrialized countries in terms of robot adoption, with a robot density of 134 robots per 10,000 manufacturing employees, according to the International Federation of Robotics, or IFR. The world average is 162. HowToRobot and Robotics Australia Group today said they are collaborating to accelerate the adoption of automation across Australian industry. “Most businesses don’t yet have the structure, bandwidth, and expertise internally to move automation projects forward with the confidence and pace they need,” stated Søren Peters, founder and CEO of HowToRobot. “”We launched a new version of our platform, where AI is helping companies describe their projects. Instead of hiring an engineer to spend 18 months, they can use it to mature the project description so you can go to your manager and say, ‘Look, I need $200,000 to automate this.'” “We did reports https://www.therobotreport.com/australia-robotics-industry-overview-published-howtorobot/ about different markets, and we kept in contact with a lot of these countries and their robot associations,” he told The Robot Report https://www.therobotreport.com/ . “Like many other countries, Australia is struggling to get manufacturers to adopt automation. We showed its association the new version of HowToRobot, and it said, ‘Can we get a copy?’ We created a country version.” HowToRobot said its independent validation system for automation helps companies work out what to automate, what it should cost, and who can deliver. The company https://www.therobotreport.com/tag/howtorobot/ said both small operations and Fortune 500 companies use its platform https://howtorobot.com/how-the-flow-works and network of experts to discover automation opportunities, specify projects, and connect with vetted suppliers from a global network. Manufacturers in Australia need more automation Australian manufacturing https://www.therobotreport.com/category/markets-industries/manufacturing/ faces persistent skilled workforce shortages, cost pressures, and the slowest productivity growth in 60 years, according to https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/national-accounts/australian-national-accounts-national-income-expenditure-and-product/latest-release the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In its National Robotics Strategy https://www.industry.gov.au/publications/national-robotics-strategy , the country https://www.therobotreport.com/tag/australia/ ‘s government said that increasing the use of automation could add https://www.industry.gov.au/publications/national-robotics-strategy/australias-robotics-opportunity $170 billion to $600 billion per year to Australia’s gross domestic product by 2030. The U.S. has had similar discussions https://www.therobotreport.com/?s=national+robotics+strategy around a national robotics strategy. “If we want the productivity benefits of automation, we need to make it easier for more Australian businesses to actually adopt it,” said Paul Mason, CEO of Robotics Australia Group. “That means helping companies make better decisions before they spend the money — finding the right opportunities, building a sound business case, and getting the right solution providers around the table.” Robotics Australia Group is intended to facilitate the growth of a sustainable and internationally competitive Australian robotics industry. The organization https://www.roboausnet.com.au/ connects developers, researchers, integrators, manufacturers, adopters, educators, investors and government across the robotics and automation ecosystem https://www.roboausnet.com.au/robotics-ecosystem . It has produced https://www.therobotreport.com/building-sustainable-robotics-industry-australia-role-robotics-australia-group/ three editions of the “ Australian Robotics Roadmap https://www.roboausnet.com.au/robotics-roadmap-2025 ” and supported the National Robotics Strategy. Editor’s note: Reshoring production with automation will be among the topics discussed at RoboBusiness https://www.robobusiness.com/ 2026, which will be on Oct. 20 and 21 in Santa Clara, Calif. Register now to attend. https://cvent.me/5AGyXE?RefId=articles AutomationFinder.com.au is a national resource The partners have launched AutomationFinder.com.au , a localized site operated by Robotics Australia Group and using HowToRobot’s AI. It is designed to help Australian businesses identify where automation could benefit their operations the most. The subscription-based platform provides a structured system for local engineers to describe their needs and then them into supplier-ready project briefs, said HowToRobot. Users can then get real market feedback on costs, feasibility, and solution concepts from a global network of more than 20,000 vetted suppliers — including 500 in Australia alone. AutomationFinder.com.au draws on data from more than 600 existing automation projects worldwide. The partners also said a panel of independent automation experts is available for hands-on engagements across Australia. “This partnership brings a system that’s already proven to work in the markets that are furthest ahead,” said Mason. “We are excited to — in partnership with HowToRobot – provide manufacturers with the system, expertise, and clarity they need to succeed.” Australian companies can use the platform to compare suppliers, move forward with firm quotes, and make final selections. HowToRobot asserted that its system is vendor-neutral, relying on a mix of suppliers, from divisions of global vendors such as FANUC to local integrators and startups. “What we see across the businesses already using our platform is that giving them a structured way to validate key decisions – what to automate, what it should cost, who can deliver it – is what makes adoption move faster and outcomes more predictable,” said Peters. “We’re excited to bring that to Australian manufacturers alongside Robotics Australia Group.” First national platform for automation buyers, suppliers AutomationFinder.com.au is the first country-wide licensed deployment of HowToRobot’s platform, but it won’t be the last, Peters said. “We’re now getting contacted by other associations and countries. Every client is looking to shorten their supply chain,” he observed. “We’ve seen a lot of government initiatives spend enormous amounts of money and identify good things, but then they go nowhere. Even if one project goes forward, what about the other 11?” “With HowToRobot, the platform remembers that, even if robotic palletizing is the thing that moves forward, you can go back to a company four months later and ask about packaging,” said Peters. “You get that memory in a sense.” “Imagine that we had 10,000 companies in Australia that have all bookmarked what they are thinking, automation-wise, and you now give that information — anonymized, obviously — to the Australian people and say, ‘This is what you’re thinking of as a nation right now,'” he said. “Maybe packaging is Australia’s biggest problem. That would really really change the the focus on what a country is trying to get moving.” Peters mentioned that other areas of interest in Europe, U.S. states, and elsewhere include agriculture and end-of-line packaging. “It took us a while to understand our role — mom and pop shops are trying to find an accessible way of automating,” he acknowledged. “We don’t fly anyone to Ohio or California or wherever; we see if we can find a local guy. That’s important for building trust between buyers and sellers.” “We’re not trying to take an advisory role — we providing the infrastructure piece,” said Peters. “People think we’re just a marketplace, but we’re helping to build a pipeline for the discovery and buying part of robotics.”