The 2026 Autonomous Manufacturing AI World Show (AMWS 2026), an event aimed at leading a shift beyond AI innovation in South Korean manufacturing to a stage of “actionable autonomous manufacturing,” opened on April 27 at the COEX Grand Ballroom in Seoul.

This year’s event, themed “autonomous manufacturing innovation industry in the era of manufacturing AI,” focuses on a new manufacturing paradigm in which AI goes beyond simple data analysis to judge processes and, linked with robots and equipment, carries out direct control. It brings together core autonomous manufacturing technologies including physical AI, digital twins, smart vision, intelligent robots and next-generation motion control.

Government, institutional and industry figures attended the opening ceremony. Younghoon Cho (조영훈), head of the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement, said robots combined with AI are establishing themselves as a key means of execution-based intelligence that judges and performs tasks on their own. He stressed that an autonomous manufacturing environment will be an important factor shaping the competitiveness of South Korea’s manufacturing industry. Gwanghyun Ahn (안광현), head of the Artificial Intelligence Innovation Promotion Group at the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs, said the key to spreading autonomous manufacturing lies in cooperation and connection rather than the technology itself.

Keynote speeches were arranged to cover policy, technology and on-site application strategies. Ahn opened the session by presenting the “AI-based Smart Manufacturing Innovation 3.0 strategy and support policies,” and companies including Ineegy, Mech-Mind Robotics, UBC, Ibex and OnePredict shared their autonomous manufacturing strategies.

In the exhibition zone, various solutions including manufacturing AI, AMR, industrial robots, digital twins and AI vision were unveiled, and participating companies held consultations with visitors while presenting real manufacturing site deployment cases and ROI-focused adoption strategies.

The event was co-hosted by the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement, the Korea Autonomous Manufacturing Platform Association and Seoul Technopark, and was sponsored by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Artificial Intelligence Innovation Promotion Group at the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs. Nineteen South Korean and foreign companies, including Neuromeka, RaonPeople, LS Electric and Omron Korea, participated.