Robotics Australia Group, HowToRobot launch national platform to lift Australia’s automation adoption

Robotics Australia Group, the national peak body for robotics, automation and physical AI in Australia, and HowToRobot, a global validation system for physical automation, announced a country-wide partnership to accelerate automation adoption across Australian industry.

Together, the two organizations said that they give Australian manufacturers a structured, AI-based system to plan, validate and source automation - removing the guesswork that has held many businesses back from acting. Australian businesses will access the initiative locally through AutomationFinder.com.au, a dedicated Australian site operated by Robotics Australia Group and powered by HowToRobot.

The platform went live on September 1.

Australia’s first national platform for automation buyers and suppliers

The organizations said that the platform helps businesses identify and scope investment opportunities for automation in their operations - and provides a structured system to validate feasibility, costs, and technological concepts from a global base of over 20,000 vetted suppliers (500 in Australia alone).

”Australia’s manufacturers know they need to automate, but many have been hesitant to invest due to uncertainty about how to deal with new robotics technology,” said Paul Mason, CEO of Robotics Australia Group. “We are excited to - in partnership with HowToRobot - provide them with the system, expertise and clarity they need to succeed.”

The partnership puts the HowToRobot platform at the center of Australia's automation procurement, with Australian businesses able to access the initiative through the dedicated local site. HowToRobot and Robotics Australia Group said that it removes key barriers that have held businesses back from automating.

“Most businesses don’t yet have the structure, bandwidth and expertise internally to move automation projects forward with the confidence and pace they need,” said Søren Peters, CEO and founder of HowToRobot. "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. We're excited to bring that to Australian manufacturers alongside Robotics Australia Group."

The organizations said that the new platform works by letting users describe their situation to an AI system that draws upon data from over 600 global automation projects and provides a structured way to:

• Identify where automation will deliver the highest impact in their operation
• Turn automation ideas into supplier-ready project briefs
• Get real market input on cost, feasibility, and solution concepts from vetted suppliers in Australia and globally.
• Move forward with firm quotes, supplier comparison, and final selection
• Engage a panel of independent Australian automation experts when hands-on support is needed

HowToRobot and Robotics Australia Group added that the platform is fully vendor-neutral, giving manufacturers unbiased market input to base their decisions on - with no commercial stake in which technology or supplier they choose.

Platform partnership addresses labor and productivity challenges

The organizations said that the HowToRobot platform arrives in Australia at a moment when closing the automation gap has become an urgent national priority. Australian manufacturing faces persistent skilled workforce shortages, cost pressures and the slowest productivity growth in 60 years - conditions that make robotics and automation critical.

With a robot density of just 134 robots per 10,000 employees in manufacturing in 2023, well below the world average of 162, according to data from the International Federation of Robotics, Australia is lagging behind most other industrialized nations. The Australian Government's National Robotics Strategy outlines that closing the gap could add between $170 billion and $600 billion per year to Australia's GDP by 2030.

“Australia has a huge need for automation and the suppliers and expertise to deliver on it. What we've been missing is a structured way for manufacturers and industry to act on it at scale,” Mason said. “This partnership brings a system that's already proven to work in the markets that are furthest ahead.”