Fortunately, only the muesli falls

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This year's Hannover Messe is all about Industrial Automation. You can feel it not only in the exhibition halls. The Federal Chancellor also invoked in his opening speech the desire to free industrial AI solutions from the tight corset of European AI regulation.

However, many automation processes are quite abstract. Digital twins in the metaverse, complicated control technology, or AI-supported software solutions – all of this is neither illustrative nor particularly spectacular. How can people be inspired by abstract automation processes? Exactly, with robots.

Robots not only symbolize progress, they fascinate people immensely. This is confirmed at the Hannover Messe: Wherever something is seemingly milled, sorted, driven around, or danced autonomously, crowds form. It doesn't matter at all whether the companies have anything to do with robotics: people are drawn like moths to a flame.

However, quite a lot of the robot technology shown promises more than it can deliver – and appears rather comical considering the many pretentious marketing promises.

A commentary by Robin Ahrens

Robin Ahrens has been an intern at the c’t editorial office since September 2025. As a humanities scholar, he is interested in the social implications of technology. He writes primarily about artificial intelligence, internet culture and policy, the societal impact of technology, and digital education.

The fateful box

At the SAP booth, for example, a humanoid robot moves around on a rolling platform. While the core idea is to demonstrate the company's own warehouse management software, robots attract more attention than SAP's dry user interfaces.

The mobile humanoid has a relatively trivial task: it is supposed to pick up a plastic box of ginger shots from a shelf, roll it to a rack, and place the box there. For each of these steps, the SAP software automatically creates a task beforehand.

Sounds good at first, but in reality it appears quite sluggish. It takes a considerable amount of time for the robot to pick up the box – much longer than it would take humans. The SAP employee assures that this is due to the crowds at the trade fair; the poor robot is quite confused.

Eventually, it actually has the box in its grippers and purposefully rolls towards the shelf. Well, a bit too purposefully, as there is still a box from a previous run. The robot doesn't seem to realize this: it pushes the plastic box straight into the shelf with its robo-arms, while the old box tumbles off the shelf at the back. Only the quick intervention of a booth employee saves it from falling. Lucky.

Yes, yes, it's the human's fault

Next, to the booth of the Robotics Institute Germany (RIG). Here too, a humanoid robot rolls around. It is supposed to be able to “perform complex tasks, learn from interactions with humans, and communicate in natural language.” The RIG promises that it can grasp non-rigid objects – i.e., anything that requires particular dexterity.

Sounds promising. And indeed: the robot is controlled by an employee via voice command – if it listens. Because so far, it seems rather recalcitrant. The gentleman has to repeat the commands several times and speak particularly clearly. Is this already the revolt of the machines against humanity?

Eventually, the robot stands in front of an expectant trade fair visitor with its mechanical hand open. It is supposed to pick up a muesli pack. The woman presses the packaging into the robo-hand, pauses unnaturally long. After a while, she lets go and whoosh, the muesli lands on the floor. However, the robot is not to blame for this, assures the RIG employee. The visitor only handed over the muesli pack incorrectly.

A lot of hot air

Such situations occur repeatedly along the Hannover Messe. Regardless of the manufacturer, a pattern seems to be emerging. Again and again, much is promised, technical superlatives are thrown around, and the adaptive intelligence of robots is praised to the skies. However, in many everyday situations, especially when dealing with people, they fail – for now.

Especially the spectacular-looking humanoids seem particularly prone to errors. In many industrial manufacturing situations, intelligent robotic arms are the better choice anyway, explains an employee from Agile Robots, a German manufacturer.

Admittedly, robot technology is complex, and individual components are highly developed. In the end, however, it is not the manufacturers' promises that decide, but real situations. And so far, the muesli does fall. Fortunately, it wasn't a component weighing several kilograms.

(rah)