Hexagon unveils new focus on achievable automation at IMTS 

New approach gives manufacturers practical automation options ranging from turnkey inspection cells to fully customized production workflows.

Manufacturers know automation is essential to staying competitive, but according to Hexagon’s upcoming Americas State of Manufacturing Survey, when it comes to automation, only 24% believe they are ahead of competitors, 46% are keeping pace, 30% are behind or have not started.
85% name at least one barrier to accelerating AI and automation.

For years, manufacturers have often been forced to choose between two extremes: purchasing an off-the-shelf automation system that may not fit their production requirements, or investing in a completely custom automation project that requires significant engineering resources, systems integration and upfront investment. As a result, many automation initiatives stall before they begin.

At IMTS 2026, Hexagon will demonstrate a different approach.

Hexagon’s portable metrology division has launched a new focus on achievable automation. Rather than asking manufacturers to make a massive leap into automation all at once, the initiative is built around giving manufacturers practical options that fit where they are today and allow them to expand automation as their production requirements grow. These efforts focus on helping manufacturers automate at a pace that aligns with their production needs by offering practical pathways ranging from ready-to-deploy inspection cells to fully customized automation solutions built with trusted integration partners.

"Automation shouldn't require manufacturers to choose between a rigid, one-size-fits-all system and an overwhelming custom engineering project," said Joel Martin, Director of Product Management, Portable Division, at Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence. "Our goal is to give manufacturers practical options that allow them to automate today while leaving room to grow tomorrow."

Lowering the Barrier to Automation

A central theme of Hexagon's IMTS exhibit is lowering the barriers that have traditionally limited automation adoption.

That means reducing more than upfront cost. Hexagon has focused on making automation easier to deploy, operate and integrate into day-to-day production, particularly for manufacturers that may not have dedicated automation expertise. The goal is to create more practical entry points into automation while giving manufacturers the flexibility to scale as their needs evolve. 

The PRESTO product family is Hexagon's portfolio of standardized robotic inspection cells, combining industrial robotics, metrology technology and automation software to bring automated quality inspection closer to production. At IMTS 2026, Hexagon will preview PRESTO XS, the new entry point to automated metrology within the PRESTO Quality Stations ecosystem.

Designed for small, complex parts, PRESTO XS brings industrial metrology into a compact, mobile system that can move closer to production and operate in space-constrained environments with minimal infrastructure changes. Its intuitive shop-floor interface allows operators to create and edit inspection routines without robot programming expertise, helping manufacturers introduce automated inspection without the complexity typically associated with custom automation projects.

PRESTO XS also supports flexible 2-in-1 workflows, allowing manufacturers to use the system as an automated cobot solution or for handheld scanning as inspection demands change. This flexibility helps manufacturers reduce inspection cycle times and transport delays, free skilled metrology experts from repetitive scanning tasks and standardize quality processes across multiple stations.

The result is a more accessible path into automated metrology: compact enough for the shop floor, mobile enough to bring inspection where it is needed and standardized to simplify deployment and operation. As manufacturers' automation needs grow, PRESTO XS can also serve as a scalable building block alongside larger PRESTO Quality Stations.

Automation Starts with Measurement

Hexagon will also demonstrate how automation doesn't have to begin with a robot.

Manufacturers can start by using portable metrology systems, including handheld scanners, laser trackers and optical measurement technologies, for manual inspection today. As production volumes increase, those same measurement technologies can later be integrated into robotic inspection cells or automated workflows without requiring manufacturers to replace the sensors they've already invested in.

This approach reduces retraining, preserves existing measurement workflows and provides manufacturers with a practical path from manual inspection to automation at their own pace.

The booth will also feature Hexagon's ATS800 integrated on an autonomous mobile robot (AMR), demonstrating how advanced optical measurement technology can support fully customized automation workflows for large-scale manufacturing applications. Designed for industries such as aerospace and shipbuilding, where moving large parts to a fixed inspection station is often impractical, the system illustrates how manufacturers can bring inspection directly into production, enabling quality data to guide manufacturing decisions earlier in the process rather than only after production is complete. 

An Open Automation Ecosystem

Hexagon's automation strategy is intentionally built around openness.

Rather than requiring manufacturers to adopt proprietary automation platforms, Hexagon collaborates with certified system integrators and robotics partners, including companies such as MARI, to help customers build automation solutions around the technologies and production environments they already use.

This collaborative approach allows manufacturers to select the automation architecture that best fits their operations while relying on Hexagon to provide the measurement expertise that underpins reliable automated inspection.

Experience Achievable Automation at IMTS

Visitors to Booth #134102 will see Hexagon's complete automation portfolio in action, including turnkey robotic inspection cells, custom automation workflows and portable metrology technologies that enable manufacturers to scale automation on their own terms.