A3 (Association for Advancing Automation)

The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) is a North American trade organization founded in 1974 and headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was formed through the consolidation of three earlier associations — the Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the Automated Imaging Association (AIA), and the Motion Control & Motor Association (MCMA) — and now serves as the unified voice for the robotics, machine vision, motion control, motors and industrial artificial intelligence industries.

A3 represents robot manufacturers (including FANUC, KUKA, ABB, Yaskawa, Universal Robots, Kawasaki Robotics, Omron), machine vision providers (Cognex), system integrators and end users across automotive, aerospace, logistics, healthcare and electronics. The organization runs the Robotic Integrator Certification Program (RICP), publishes North American robot order statistics, hosts the annual Automate trade show and grants the Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics Awards — the highest honor in the robotics industry, named after the pioneer of industrial robotics.

A3 is also the North American member of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) and contributes to standards committees covering robotics, machine vision and automated systems safety. The organization is led by Jeff Burnstein, recipient of the 2023 Engelberger Award.