Economic realities are forcing almost all industries to increase productivity and maintain competitiveness. Autonomous systems offer the key to this, through smart automation and AI that make processes radically more efficient. During NCAS’26, next April 2, it should become clear how to make the step from lab to successful application.
In order to become more productive and remain competitive, companies worldwide are putting massive bets on autonomous systems: systems that not only perform tasks, but also perceive, decide and act independently. So without human intervention.
From factories to ports and from distribution centers to critical infrastructure, autonomous solutions are rapidly gaining ground everywhere. The Netherlands plays a notable role in this development. Not merely as a customer, but especially as a developer and exporter.
Huge growth market
‘Autonomous systems are a huge growth market for the Netherlands,’ says Linco Nieuwenhuyzen, program director of Funding Landscape and National Technology Strategy (NTS) at ROM-Netherlands.’And we have a “right to play and chance to win” – you can develop and test it here together with the market and then go and sell it internationally. That combination of development and a test market sets the Netherlands apart from many other countries.’
Not for nothing is autonomous manufacturing one of the focus areas in the Regional Strengthening Plan National Technology Strategy (RV-NTS), the regional translation of national technology priorities into concrete value chains. After all, it combines multiple key technologies, including AI, robotics, sensor technology and photonics.
Above all, the urgency to accelerate is great. Due to an aging population, thirty percent of skilled workers are expected to disappear from the labor market in the next five years, while the influx from, for example, the intermediate vocational school (MBO) is declining. But labor market shortage is only one side of the story. Because perhaps even more important: in order to maintain competitiveness, structurally higher productivity is required. More output with fewer people is becoming the new standard, which is precisely why autonomous systems are no longer a technological choice but a strategic necessity.
Accelerate
‘That global focus on productivity is accelerating the development of autonomous systems,’ says Nieuwenhuyzen. ‘The value proposition is clear in almost all sectors: higher volumes, better quality and less labor. Companies in the maritime sector, for example, see that they can only remain competitive if they become 15 percent cheaper. That gives a huge push to work on it even more emphatically.’
To actually get from lab to successful application, chain parties need to know how to find each other, which is precisely why NCAS’26 will take place on April 2. This second edition of the National Autonomous Systems Congress will once again bring together developers, system integrators and (future) end users in Drachten, this time under the theme “From lab to Life”.The congress serves as a national benchmark where it becomes clear how and why autonomy is developing into a key technology for productivity, competitiveness and addressing societal challenges. What it is already enabling and where opportunities lie.
With contributions from Airbus and Demcon, there is a slight focus on defense during NCAS’26. Prompted by current geopolitical developments and defense’s forerunner role in the application of autonomous systems. ‘But that learning experience goes both ways,’ Nieuwenhuyzen emphasizes. ‘Many startups that have developed autonomous technology are now making the switch to defense. At the same time, defense can learn from sectors that have already made the transition to autonomous production. And other sectors can in turn learn from the speed with which defense is now implementing autonomous systems. There, it is not a nice to have, but a need to have.’
Higher plan
The pursuit of higher productivity is not a new phenomenon in the Dutch manufacturing industry. Ever since the 1980s, companies have been turning to automation and robotics to produce more efficiently. But autonomous systems are taking this to the next level. After all, unlike classical automation, autonomous systems are no longer dependent on pre-programmed instructions.
AI is the gamechanger, of course. Not because the technology is new, but because faster processors, larger memories and specialized AI chips now make it possible for machines to perceive their environment, recognize patterns and make decisions independently. AI has been around for decades, but is only now reaching a level where real-world applications are reliable, scalable and affordable. That practice is already in full view in the Netherlands.
Picnic and Philips
Take online supermarket Picnic, also present at NCAS’26, which is extensively integrating autonomous systems into its logistics and fulfillment centers. Not by simply purchasing technology, but by actively co-designing, testing and scaling it up itself. In doing so, the company is accelerating the development of new logistics processes and customer-oriented services.
Or look at Philips in Drachten, one of Europe’s smartest and best automated factories, where hundreds of robots support the production of shavers, with self-learning processes that predict failures and prevent downtime. The factory makes products that would normally come from China, but has remained competitive through the use of autonomous systems.
‘Picnic and Philips Drachten are renowned companies that are very visible because they serve the consumer market,’ says Nieuwenhuyzen. ‘But similar developments are also happening at companies that operate a bit more in the lee. The transition is broadly underway. It helps if their results also come out even more and are shared. When companies see what others are actually achieving, it inspires and makes the potential even more tangible.’
Hook up or drop out
That exchange of best practices is indeed of great value. Especially now that autonomy is shifting from a technological promise to an economic and social difference-maker. For companies that produce, the question is no longer whether they should deploy autonomous systems, but when their backlog will become unbridgeable. Or to put it another way: it’s hook or crook.
‘That is why an event like NCAS’26 is so important,’ emphasizes Nieuwenhuyzen, ‘as a meeting place and as a platform where relevant knowledge and experience are shared.Precisely because autonomy is not something you buy out of a catalog, but it does affect your entire business strategy, it is pre-eminently a theme about which you have to talk to each other and look at how competitive colleagues and experts approach it. I hope companies realize that they really need to get to grips with it.
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