Beyond the Robotic Arm: How Integra Robotics Wants to Build India’s Automation Ecosystem
As India accelerates its journey towards becoming a global manufacturing hub, robotics and automation are emerging as critical enablers of this transformation. From improving productivity and precision to addressing the evolving needs of Indian MSMEs, robotics is increasingly moving beyond traditional industrial automation. The integration of AI, computer vision, and intelligent systems is also reshaping how robots operate on modern factory floors. In this context, Abhit Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO, Integra Robotics, shares his perspective on the future of robotics in India, the need for indigenous capabilities, and how human-machine collaboration will shape the manufacturing workforce.
1. As India aims to become a global manufacturing hub, where do you see robotics and automation playing the biggest role over the next five years?
Over the next five years, I believe robotics will move from being viewed as specialised equipment for large factories to becoming a much more fundamental part of Indian manufacturing.
The biggest opportunity will be in automating repetitive, physically demanding, and precision-oriented processes such as machine tending, material handling, assembly, inspection, packaging, and palletising. These are areas where manufacturers need consistency and productivity, but where deploying conventional automation has often been difficult because of cost, space or flexibility requirements.
The next phase will also be less about installing a standalone robotic arm and more about building complete intelligent workcells. A robot has to work with vision systems, end-of-arm tooling, sensors, software, and existing machinery. This integration layer is where a significant amount of the actual value is created.
At Integra Robotics, for instance, we are developing collaborative robots across payload capacities ranging from 3 kg to 20 kg, alongside vision systems, end-of-arm tooling, and customised robotic solutions. The objective is to address different factory requirements rather than expecting one robot to solve every manufacturing problem.
India has a very diverse manufacturing base. If we can build automation around the realities of Indian factories, robotics can become an important enabler of India’s ambition to manufacture competitively for both domestic and global markets.
2. What needs to change for robotics and automation to become economically viable and scalable for Indian MSMEs?
For MSMEs, the discussion cannot begin with, “Which robot should you buy?” It has to begin with, “Which problem are you trying to solve?”
Many smaller manufacturers operate with tight margins, limited floor space and equipment from different generations. They therefore need to know whether automation will actually improve throughput, quality, safety or utilisation enough to justify the investment.
This is why application selection is extremely important. Instead of trying to automate an entire factory at once, an MSME could begin with a process such as CNC machine tending, pick-and-place, inspection, packaging, or repetitive material handling where the outcome can be clearly measured.
The second requirement is flexibility. Collaborative robots can be useful here because manufacturers can deploy robotic automation within relatively compact workcells and adapt systems for different applications.
The third, and perhaps most important, requirement is the ecosystem surrounding the robot. Integration, commissioning, training, spares, and after-sales support determine whether an automation project continues delivering value after installation.
This is one reason Integra places significant emphasis on local engineering and support. We also work with system integrators and automation partners because scaling robotics in India will require an ecosystem that can deploy and support these systems across manufacturing clusters, not simply sell hardware.
3. What will it take for India to build a stronger indigenous robotics ecosystem and reduce dependence on imported automation technologies?
India needs to look at robotics as a strategic engineering capability rather than simply another category of industrial equipment.
Building an indigenous ecosystem means developing capabilities across the complete stack: mechanical engineering, electronics, controls, software, perception, end-of-arm tooling, system integration, and increasingly AI.
It is also important to distinguish localisation from simply assembling imported components. The real opportunity is to build engineering and product-development capability in India so that robotic systems can be designed around Indian operating environments and customised when an off-the-shelf solution does not fit.
At Integra Robotics, we are taking an engineering-led approach. We design and manufacture robotics hardware and software and work across collaborative robots, mobile robotic platforms, vision systems and application-specific solutions. Our standard cobot portfolio currently covers payloads from 3 kg to 20 kg, while we can also engineer customised configurations where an application requires different reach, payload, tooling, or operating conditions.
Local engineering also has a practical commercial benefit. Manufacturers need faster troubleshooting, accessible spares, application support and the ability to modify systems as production requirements change.
India already has a strong engineering and software talent base. If we combine that with deeper hardware development, manufacturing capability, research, and a strong network of integrators, I believe India has the potential not only to meet domestic robotics demand but eventually build globally competitive robotics products.
4. How are AI, computer vision, and intelligent systems changing the capabilities of robots on modern factory floors?
Traditional automation works extremely well when the environment is predictable: the same component arrives at the same location, and the machine performs the same sequence repeatedly.
AI and computer vision become important when robots need greater awareness of what is happening around them.
Vision can allow a robotic system to identify components, inspect products, guide manipulation, perform measurements, and detect quality issues. At Integra Robotics, our work in computer vision is focused on applications including inspection, robot guidance, 3D measurement, and monitoring.
We are also exploring the next layer through teleoperation and physical AI. Our teleoperation platform is being developed to allow human experts to intervene through XR and haptic interfaces when a robot encounters difficult edge cases. Those assisted actions can then generate labelled training data that can improve perception, planning, and control over time.
That represents an important evolution. Instead of robots only executing predefined instructions, we are moving towards systems that can perceive their environment, handle greater variability, and gradually become more capable.
However, the industry should avoid adopting AI simply because it is fashionable. On a factory floor, reliability, safety, repeatability, and measurable business outcomes remain the priority. Intelligence is valuable when it makes automation more useful and dependable.
5. As automation increases, how do you see humans and collaborative robots working together, and what new skills will the manufacturing workforce require?
I don’t believe the future of manufacturing should be framed simply as humans versus robots. A more realistic model is humans and machines becoming better at complementary tasks.
Robots are particularly effective at repetitive, monotonous, precision-intensive, or physically demanding work. People remain extremely valuable where judgement, adaptability, problem-solving, and process knowledge are required.
Collaborative robots make this relationship particularly interesting because they allow manufacturers to rethink how tasks are divided within a production environment. The goal should not necessarily be to remove a person from a process. It can be to remove the repetitive part of that person’s work and allow them to supervise equipment, manage quality, or perform higher-value activities.
This will naturally change the skills factories require. Alongside traditional manufacturing knowledge, there will be growing demand for technicians and engineers who understand robot programming, system integration, electronics, controls, machine vision, troubleshooting, and automation maintenance.
At Integra Robotics, we see this firsthand because building and deploying robotics requires multidisciplinary teams across robotics, electronics, software, and industrial engineering.
For India, this creates an important opportunity. We have a large manufacturing workforce and a strong engineering talent pool. If automation adoption is accompanied by systematic reskilling, robotics can help improve productivity while simultaneously creating a new generation of higher-skilled manufacturing roles.
