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On the other side of the Atlantic, Canada is a pioneering country in terms of research, development and investment in AI. The Canadian government has high goals to strengthen the country's welfare and competitiveness with the help of AI. And here is a great opportunity for Automation Region's members to contribute.

For a period of one month, a group of students from Mälardalen University have been working on the Digital sömmerska (Digital tailor) project at the University of Borås. They have been tasked with robotising the human process of handling a fabric and sewing a simple garment.

“When it comes to costs and business benefits, it is important to implement automation if Sweden is to have a future in textile production,” says Yuliya Urban, who project manages the students’ tasks.

At Automation Region's Annual Meeting on 24 March, a progressive operational plan was established that will provide the direction of work efforts during the coming year. The starting point is a clear national commitment and focus on four prioritised areas for developing Swedish industry. New members were also elected to the Board and the meeting ended with mingling and socialising.

The Mikrofabriker project (Micro-factory) is looking for companies and people who want to be involved in developing a remake machine for clothes. A machine that can identify defects on garments by itself and automatically repair them so that the garment is given new life. A prototype is currently being developed will be used and displayed in Do Tank Center at Science Park in Borås.

The winners of the 2021 Automation Student competition, Moutoz Abdalrahman and Alistair Brice from Lund University, have investigated how a manual assembly process can be automated. The knowledge gained from their degree project can now be used to increase the degree of automation in industry.

Together with Science Park Borås, Automation Region runs the project Mikrofabriker, which investigates how textile and clothing production can be brought home to Sweden. The goal is to develop technology and manufacturing processes for circular and sustainable flows and production concepts.

On December 7, the project group visited ABB Robotics in Västerås to gather inspiration and discuss automation solutions. The study visit was followed by a discussion that was recorded in a studio and is now available to those who want to know more about the potential of automation in the textile industry.

Automation Region works to strengthen the Swedish industry's competitiveness with the help of research and innovation. We are now strengthening our national focus and offering by establishing a regional node for Västerbotten and Norrbotten based in Skellefteå.

– By connecting Sweden's strong industrial environments, we can create better opportunities to utilize our cutting-edge skills and drive the development of the industry of the future, says Catarina Berglund, process manager at Automation Region.

– Industrimötet Sverige offers a method for raising issues and challenges to a common agenda, says Ola Norén, Chairman of the Board of Automation Region. If we start now, and do it together, Sweden will be able to remain competitive in a global market.

During the autumn, Automation Region visits a number of Swedish industrial regions and gathers local companies, organizations and investors in workshops and talks on development and growth factors in industrial technology. Large parts of these meetings are filmed and the material can be read afterwards.

Read more about Industrimötet Sverige and watch the films →

Around the world, the industry is undergoing a technology-driven structural transformation where existing automation and IT systems are strengthened with new digital solutions. Developments within IndTech are rapid and have great significance for companies' competitiveness. In the new report Automation is now, Automation Region points out five areas that are of particular importance to Swedish industry.

Darja Isaksson is Director General of Vinnova, Sweden’s innovation agency, and since 2019 has been a member of the Swedish National Digitalisation Council, set up by the Swedish Government. Vinnova is involved in the Industry Day on 7 September and we have spoken with Darja Isaksson about the role of the government in the continued development of the industry in Sweden.