机器人行业论坛通过宣布父母协会的新名称开始了演出，该父母协会曾经被称为自动化技术委员会，现在称为“自动化协会”（A3）。该家长协会负责监督机器人工业协会（RIA），自动成像协会（AIA）和运动控制协会（MCA）贸易协会及其使命声明，其使命声明将在全球基础上更加活跃，以促进所有三个“女儿”协会。Automation Automation（A3）协会董事长Rich Litt在活动的开幕式上补充说：“没有全球发言人促进自动化，A3可以提供“为什么”自动化，而协会将促进“如何”。
Other news from the forum—co-located with the 20th Annual Automated Imaging Association show and the 4th annual Motion Control Association show—saw the announcement of a new robotic system integrator certification program run by the Robotics Industries Association. Jeff Burnstein, president, RIA, outlined the new program and stated the RIA had been researching a robotic certification program for the last two years. Burnstein added, “We heard about some system integrators (SIs) losing bids based on price to other vendors whom were not as qualified and then finding out the low-cost integrator didn't get the job done. Eventually, the manufacturer went with the more qualified integrator to fix the (first) integration problems. And that's a big reason for the certification."
认证计划不能保证您的机器人在任何地方都可以使用，而是专注于系统集成商能够对其公司进行对抗其他SI的标准。该认证将为RIA网站上的认证集成商的功能清单提供益处，并在机器人社区中建立领导能力和知名度。
系统集成商将不得不参加为期两天的现场审核，团队人员将在特定应用程序上进行测试以评估其技能水平。一些目标将包括展示安全的工作程序，展示基本的机器人设置技能，I/O理解以及阅读和解释机器人制造手册的能力。
由RIA推出的审计过程将以系统集成器和审核员之间的不披露协议（NDA）包裹。RIA将无法访问此审核数据。伯恩斯坦补充说，评级系统将成为新的认证计划的一部分，集成商将被评为不同的技能类别和产品。在会议上没有公布不同的评分类别。
RIA已经有12-18家公司参加了试点认证计划。此外，今年晚些时候将发布视觉集成商计划公告，但论坛上没有提供更多细节。有关机器人认证计划的更多信息，click here for an upcoming webinar关于主题。
Kicking off the event was Alan Beaulieu, President, Institute for Trend Research. He cited a rosy outlook for industrial manufacturers in 2012, with a 4.3% growth estimate for industrial production in the U.S. He added that a possible a possible slow down could come in 2014, but overall, it should be a "good decade for automation technologies." He feels that Europe's financial crisis is a threat but sees plenty of liquidity in Europe and the EU is "building a firewall around Greece."
Alan, a contributing columnist to Automation World magazine, says the real challenge for U.S. manufacturers this year will be finding "skilled" labor.
请参阅下面的视频，以获取Alan Bealieu关于2012年经济的更多评论。
