Ask yourself this question: would you be a passenger in a driverless car? 

Chances are if you answered “yes”, you are under the age of 35; if you answered “no” you are aged 45 or over and; if you are aged between 35-45, you are likely uncertain, according to an informal poll Forkliftaction News undertook at LogiMAT 2026 in Stuttgart recently.

Why does this matter? Because it speaks volumes about the generational divide when it comes to the confidence different age groups have in emerging automation technologies and capabilities, and their willingness to embrace them.

There is no doubt automation continues to be one of the biggest focuses of the materials handling sector and was one of the main topics talked about at LogiMAT 2026.

From autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs), autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), telematics, AI-assisted devices, to end-to-end solutions, you simply could not miss automation at LogiMAT, whether it was solving a problem or pushing the boundaries.

Automation on show at LogiMAT

Austrian-headquartered AMR technology provider Agilox, says it has automated the last gap in getting goods from the warehouse into the truck, with the launch of its X-Swarm autonomous truck loading solution.

Agilox X-Swarm, a plug-and-play solution, enables AMRs to operate as a decentralised intelligent swarm which requires no additional infrastructure to deploy, short of a cell phone or tablet.

French-headquartered end-to-end warehouse automation systems integrator Exotec, announced at LogiMAT it has deployed its Skypod system under its new Skyfleet program, for sporting goods retailer Decathlon at its facilities in France, UK, Portugal, Germany and Italy.

Markus Schlotter, managing director Central Europe with Exotec, tells Forkliftaction News the company has a real focus on showing customers “how to interpret end-to-end solutions with a modular mindset”.

Exotec’s CTO Renaud Heitz says automation “pushes efficiency to a level not seen before”, adding optimised automation is the ultimate goal where hardware and software talk effortlessly with each other".

German equipment manufacturer STILL launched its AXL iGO AMR and its intelligent storage location monitoring at LogiMAT.

“We are seeing automation opening up and we need to find more and more ways to integrate it,” says Jacqueline Poppe, press officer with STILL.

“We can now have two trucks (materials handling equipment) delivered and operating in two days. No infrastructure needed.”

Poppe says automation is filling a large gap in the workplace created by the shortage of skilled labour.

“It’s getting harder and harder to get truck drivers and this is a problem which needs to be addressed.”

Christian Sitzler, head of marketing and communications for the newly established Toyota Automated Logistics (TAL), says the business is now able to support clients through every step of the automation process from their first steps to full end-to-end solutions.

“Automation is growing very quickly,” he says. “Customers now want everything from the retro-fitting of brownfield sites to the full or partial automation of Greenfield developments.

Ralph Cox, senior vice president of Toyota Material Handling Europe, adds: “We are stepping up from manual equipment to smart to semi-automated and automated equipment”, adding Toyota spends some USD1 million hourly on R&D.

Toyota Material Handling Europe was showcasing its growing range of automated solutions including Swarm Automatic Transport and Swarm Automation, and its new automated counterbalance stacker.

Chinese materials handling equipment producer Hangcha, was showcasing a number of products at the event, including AGV products, a field the company continues to expand its resources to include.

This year’s exhibits included its new mini AMR which needs no infrastructure to deploy and uses 3D lidar to self-map.

“It used to take three months for an AGV to start working but now it takes 15 minutes once it has arrived at the site," Hangcha's general manager George Zhang tells Forkliftaction News.

French warehouse automations solutions provider and customised AGV producer Alstef Group, has had a strong focus on growing its footprint in the European airport and warehouse intralogistics space, but is now looking to the US market.

Alstef Group was showcasing its “turnkey” automation solutions and real-time perception system for autonomous intelligent vehicles (AIV).

“Automation can be as simple or as complicated as customers want it to be,” Matthieu Crosnier, Alstef Group’s sales director of intralogistics solutions, explains. “But it will continue to grow globally. 

“It’s getting more and more difficult to find people to move pallets. In 2026, no-one wants to remove pallets from point A to point B all day long."

Automation will never fully replace people

Joachim Reuther, Doosan Bobcat Belgium’s product manager material handling, agrees automation was unmissable at LogiMAT and while he sees there is a place for it, he insists it will never replace people completely.

“The forklift driver will never be completely replaced," Reuther says. “Highly skilled drivers will always be needed while some simple jobs can be done by automation."

Dr Monika Laurent-Junge, SD marketing & brand communications with Linde Material Handling (Linde MH), also says automation was a true highlight of LogiMAT this year and a real focus for the company. 

“Competition is so fierce for the same labour pool and automation is one way many companies are addressing this,” she adds. “Automation is opening up new possibilities.”

Indeed Linde MH used LogiMAT to launch its I-MATIC Core series AGVs, its 4T capacity Linde AC core AGV, its humanoid Carl who was a gracious bartender, and its AI and digital twins utilising the NVIDIA Omniverse.

“But automation is not able to go everywhere,” Laurent-Junge continues. “Humans are very versatile and they can do things which can’t be programmed. Automation can do the heavy lifting though.”

Equipment attachment maker KAUP’s marketing manager Gerald Schmitt, says he believes the market will be “changed to AGVs rather than humans” and the future holds more automation in smaller units.

“That said, I think there will always be a need for humans to be working with the automation,” Schmitt continues. “Not everything can be automated and machines can’t adapt and problem-solve in the same way people do.”

But there is a generational divide 

While there has been remarkable progress in the world of automation, there seem to be some fundamental differences in the approaches of people, depending on age and background, and their beliefs on how and where it can and should be used.

There is a strong view among some more seasoned industry participants that automation should be welcomed, but cautiously - though there are always exceptions.

When asked about the possibilities of automation, one senior producer who asked not to be named, answered: "Would you get into a driverless car?"

“There are some cases where the driverless car can do the job, but anything it has not been programmed to expect or any changes, and it just can't cope,” he continues, echoing the sentiment of many older industry players.

“Automation is the same. It may develop to the point where it can be trusted, but we’re not there yet!”

Another producer who has also asked not to be named, says simply “automation is overcooked”.

“Automation is far too sophisticated for the normal customer,” the European-based producer states.

“There will be a moment in time when automation is really useful, but we are not there.

“Right now I am scared about how safe all this automation is, even in terms of cyber-hacking. And while there is a lot of talk about how automation will solve the labour shortage, where are you getting all these people to handle the new tech like the AGVs.

“I believe we should keep things simple, tangible rather than taking six months to install a system which hasn’t been really tested.”

Despite this caution and concern among some, it is clear younger generations want the tech, are developing it quickly and have high ambitions.

Many of these younger developers have their sights set on full "lights-out" operations, enabling some factories and warehouses to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with human oversight only when and where required.

Among these trailblazers is David Niedermaeir, co-founder of Agilox, which launched its X-SWARM autonomous truck loading solution at LogiMAT.

“There is no reason we can’t develop fully automated warehouses,” Niedermaeir says at the product launch. “We are building products for the iPhone generation.

“We don’t just build a robot; we build a fleet and we are looking at a self-serviced product.”