MAGAZINE The official magazine of Automate Canada.Issue 7, Fall 2025 Canada Post Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 How Automate Canada and its Members are Navigating Change Global Pressures in Automation: The official publication of Automate Canada |www.automatecanada.ca 5 contents 11 Cybersecurity in 2025: Why Every Business Needs a Strategy 13 AI, Automation, and Manufacturing: Navigating Risks, Trends, and the Road Ahead 15 5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Implementing Automation Projects up front 7 Greetings from the Chair of Automate Canada 8 All About Automate Canada 9 Board of Directors 9 Why Should You Join Automate Canada features Member Showcase 17 Navigating Uncertainty: How CenterLine Is Steering Through a Shifting Manufacturing Landscape Cover photo courtesy of CenterLine (https://www.cntrline.com/) 18 Index to Advertisers Issue 7, Fall 2025 Published For: Automate Canada Institute for Border Logistics and Security 3475 Wheelton Drive Windsor, Ontario N8W 0A6 Email: info@automatecanada.ca Tel: (519) 817-6260 Published By: Matrix Group Publishing Inc. 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Contents may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of the publisher. To advertise in the next edition of Automate Canada Magazine, please e-mail sales@matrixgroupinc.net or call (866) 999-1299.The official publication of Automate Canada |www.automatecanada.ca 7 UpFront Dave Fortin Chair, Board of Directors Automate Canada hese days, I’ve been thinking a lot about artificial intelligence (AI). If AI technology continues to accelerate in capability what will this mean? How many jobs will be lost, how many created? Where is it headed? Will this acceleration create a positive cycle that further increases AI capabilities? Will we continue to see AI’s intelligence surpassing that of humans and becoming capable of improving itself faster than humans can? This acceleration will also increase the capabilities of humanoid robotics, which will extend AI into physical space! This will result in widespread disruptions. Will millions of jobs be at risk? What will happen to society? Will there be aggression toward humanoid robotics? Will they be safe? Will we be safe? In the future, will we be able to control these AIs? The developments of these technologies are both exciting and frightening. (Consider the movies I-Robot, and The Terminator.) The prediction is that we are on the cusp of massive change in only a few short years. If this is what happens, what can we do to prepare? Do we continue with AI adoption and thus feed the disruption, so we don’t fall behind? What are the implications for cutting machines, welding systems, assembly systems, packaging and material handling systems, other automation, machine design, robotics, PLC’s, vision systems, and manufacturing software applications? These are very important things for us to think about. How can we effectively apply AI to our industry is a question most of us are asking ourselves. I recently purchased ChatGPT Pro (the monthly subscription $200 USD) to determine its capabilities. I asked how AI can be applied in specific areas of machine building, vision systems, and controls, engineering business, etc. Here is just one of the nine answers I received (due to lack of space). Answer three related to assembly automation systems: 3. Assembly automation systems: • Complex insertions. Multi-agent DRL learns the hole-seeking, alignment, and insertion phases for shaft-hole assembly and converges faster than singleagent control PLOS. • Force-vision fusion. LSTMs merge six-axis force-torque data with camera input to detect jamming before damage occurs. • No-code re-teaching. Large Language Model (LLM) interfaces let technicians describe an assembly variation in plain language; the system re-plans the path. • Pilot: Simulate the task in Gazebo/ Isaac Sim first, then transfer the trained policy to the physical robot with a safety envelope. I then asked the following follow-up question: “Regarding assembly automation systems, please provide a much more detailed “blueprint” with example hardware to do this example that you provided: “Force-vision fusion. LSTMs merge six-axis force-torque data with camera input to detect jamming before damage occurs.” Answer: “Below is a practical, step-by-step ’blueprint’ you can lift straight into an internal specification or RFQ for a robotic assembly cell that must detect – and recover from – pin/shaft jams in real time by fusing six-axis force-torque (F/T) data with camera frames and running an LSTM based classifier on the edge.+++…” It then followed up with a very detailed stack of information on achieving this detection. Again, far too much to publish. But it included lists of hardware, interfaces, software snippets, how to mechanically integrate the sensors, timelines, ROI, approx. costs, and more. Other common LLM’s out there are Microsoft’s Co-pilot (which is Chat GPT), Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, and others like Cohere which is making LLM’s for private enterprise use. I think the detailed answer seemed very credible. Feel free to contact me if you want any of the earlier information in more detail, or Chat’s full nine answers. Automate Canada always strives to achieve its mantra: Share, Learn, Grow . I’d be happy to do so with you! Artificial Intelligence Applications: Positive, Negative, or a Bit of Both? How can we effectively apply AI to our industry is a question most of us are asking ourselves.8 Fall 2025 utomate Canada is a Canadian industry association representing Canada’s industrial automation sector, service providers, and suppliers. Founded in 2018 by the Canadian Association of Moldmakers (CAMM) and supported by Invest Windsor-Essex and NRC-IRAP, Automate Canada is an informative community of vibrant industry leaders who are facilitating the development and adoption of technology. Canada has established a reputation as a hub for innovation in manufacturing automation and we are proud to be a part of such an impressive industry. Representing one of Canada’s most essential technology industries, industrial automation contributes an estimated $7 billion to Canada’s economy yearly and creates approximately 40,000 jobs per year. Our industry contributions continue to grow and expand as technology continues to advance. Automate Canada leads, advocates, and showcases the Canadian automation industry strengths and capabilities. We assist and promote our members and engage in activities that support business success and innovation expertise. We invest in market and industry research to identify emerging trends and issues within our industry and assist our members with any challenges. We have fostered relationships with trade commissioners, government officials, and international companies to ensure our place as a voice for our members and industry. Our strategic pillars provide a roadmap to represent our industry locally, nationally, and globally and structures our focus when advocating to government and developing new programs. Our pillars and roadmap also ensure that we are addressing the needs of our member companies. One of our pillars is Skill and Talent Development within which we work to address skilled labour shortages and provide our members with the knowledge to transition to Industry 4.0 practices and digital transformations. Our efforts are geared towards methods of developing a talent pipeline of skilled and ready personnel interested in advanced manufacturing. We work with partners, such as We Build a Dream and the YMCA, to attract under- represented groups to our industry and to develop All About Automate Canada UpFront programs to encourage their involvement. We create and provide access to learning and training programs for our members and promote upskilling and reskilling opportunities to ensure our members and their employees are ready to adopt new technologies. Automate Canada also embraces equality, diversity, and inclusion practices and provides information for our members to adopt these practices. We work with federal and provincial governments to advocate for the importance of skill development in our industry. We develop youth-focused initiatives and work with secondary and post-secondary institutions on curriculum development to ensure the training being provided is keeping up with innovation and preparing youth to enter the workforce, while cultivating an interest in advanced manufacturing. Another one of our strategic pillars is Branding and Collaboration. Within this pillar we develop partnerships to promote ‘Made in Canada’ products as good value with high quality. We work with our partners to ensure Canadian industrial automation maintains their reputation as innovative and reliable while promoting our members to increase global relationships and foster business opportunities. Our strategic pillar, Technology and Innovation, aims to support our members in their transition to Industry 4.0 practices and digital transformations. We promote a culture of innovation and ensure our members have access to funding information, resources, and tools to facilitate their transition. We promote and participate in research and development projects, as well as emerging technologies. We work with our members while developing new technologies and IPs, while performing research and development activities or commercialization plans. We continue to add programs and services for our members including discount and affinity programs, training and development opportunities, and marketing and promotion support. We have a full calendar of upcoming events, including networking opportunities, trade shows, and learning and training events. We will continue to develop creative and innovative ways to benefit our members. Please contact info@automatecanada.ca if you have any questions. The official publication of Automate Canada |www.automatecanada.ca 9 Dave Fortin Chair Dino Oliva Vice-Chair Frank Culmone Treasurer Chris Bladek Director at Large Mike Sirrizotti Director at Large Nicolas Durand Director at Large Steve Del Duca Director at Large Stephane Boucher Director at Large Robin Levesque Director at Large Natalia Stephen CAMM Chair Board of Directors Connect With Automate Canada! www.automatecanada.ca info@automatecanada.ca www.facebook.com/AutomateCan https://x.com/AutomateCanada www.linkedin.com/company/automate-canada Canada has an established global reputation as a hub for innovation in manufacturing automation. Automate Canada leads and advocates for the Canadian automation industry, assisting and promoting our members. Automate Canada is a national association representing companies involved in the industrial automation industry as well as service and supplier companies which provide specialized technologies to our industry. Our mandate is to: • Promote and develop the global exposure of the Canadian industrial automation industry. • Be the voice of our industry to all levels of government. Automate Canada will focus on trade discussions regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) / the United States-Mexico- Canada Agreement (USMCA), the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), Canada-Mercosur, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), as well as on intellectual property, research and development, and commercialization issues. • Encourage the development and adoption of technology in the manufacturing sector as a whole, as well as in the industrial automation industry, and in partnership with post-secondary educational institutions. • Develop the next generation of highly skilled personnel through youth-focused initiatives. • Assist small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in the industrial automation industry to grow their businesses locally and globally. • Be committed to working with other organizations and associations to build global relationships. • Assist members to identify opportunities for export. • Invest in market research and industry research in order to identify emerging issues and trends affecting our industry and to target growing markets. • Support Canadian SMEs in their path to prosperity, increased competitiveness, and improved capacity domestically as well as in the international marketplace. • Showcase our industry’s capabilities and strengths on a domestic and global stage through a range of direct activities and materials, like printed and digital directories, online presence, trade shows, B2B meetings, and site visits. LEARN MORE AND JOIN ONLINE! WWW.AUTOMATECANADA.CA/ JOIN Why Should You Join Automate Canada?Next >