Large-scale trade shows like the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) are perfect stages for technology companies to showcase their hardware and robotics. While physical technology is important and impressive, it’s often the new software features that do the heaviest near-term lift for real factory teams.
For Vention, that’s MachineAgent. The MachineAgent demo may not be able to lift objects or walk like a humanoid at IMTS, but it was one of the most successful demonstrations of the show this year. Here’s why exhibition-goers loved it.
What is MachineAgent?
MachineAgent brings accessibility via Agentic AI to every stage of the automation project lifecycle. Users type plain-language prompts into stages like design, programming, and monitoring, and get AI-powered guidance in seconds.
The goal with MachineAgent isn’t to eliminate engineers, but to repurpose and redistribute their labor. Engineers will still need to review and sign off at various stages, but MachineAgent equips non-technical teams with the know-how to start and thereby expedite their automation projects.
How the IMTS Crowd Got to Test it Out
MachineAgent was available to test at the Vention booth on just a few simple screens. Check out CPO Brendan Sterne describing how it works from the show floor.
5 Reasons the MachineAgent Demo Was An IMTS Success
1. Users Could See Into Every Aspect of the Workflow
Typically, non-technical teams don’t get insight into design and programming. Monitoring and troubleshooting are also often solely left to the technical experts.
At the IMTS booth, non-technical visitors could test out these phases and watch them progress at unheard-of speeds. There was no need for technical jargon, and they could see that each stage mirrored the ease of use of a common LLM.
2. The AI is Available Inside the Vention Platform
Vention’s MachineAgent for programming is available in-platform through Copilot. This lowers the barrier for non-technical users to get started. There’s no need for additional or external setup, and users can be seamlessly guided through each stage.
MachineAgent is available here in the browser, on the cloud, and users can simulate via the digital twin within the same interface.
3. Users Could Also Work With a Preferred External AI Agent
MachineAgent capabilities can be used within the AI Agent of your choice, like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Installation will first require downloading our MCP. Then, depending on which agent you’re using, typically just requires unzipping the MachineAgent skills .zip file.
Just like with the built-in AI, users can use MachineAgent skills in their agent to support cell layout (design), troubleshooting, and monitoring in real time.
4. Design is Intuitive and Accessible
Users can design their automation project by using a plain language prompt and an optional floorplan. Vention will then pull from more than 300 pre-engineered cells, and users can identify which machines they would like placed into the facility end design.
While this process is significantly faster than designing from scratch, it’s worth noting that this process best serves as a starting point. Users are still required to review the design via Automated Design Checker, and an engineer should review for quality and safety.
5. Programming is Easy and Intuitive
There are a few ways MachineAgent can be used in the programming process. MachineLogic Copilot is a programming interface available in-platform for a seamless experience.
Users can also use the Vention CLI and the Vention Developer Toolkit, enabling programming from a local IDE and with an already familiar coding agent like Claude Code. This is the recommended path for more complex applications or for those looking for more nuanced version control.
At IMTS, users could generate a new application from a prompt by simply describing what the application should do. They could also try modifying or debugging existing applications with the same prompting method.
5. MachineAnalytics Data is Available For Simplified Fleet Monitoring
MachineAgent supports simple monitoring and troubleshooting, saving users a tremendous amount of time managing the fleet. IMTS go-ers could experience:
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Analytics surfacing: By prompting with plain language like “Which production line had the most downtime last week?” users could see analytics surface without needing to navigate convoluted dashboards.
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Troubleshooting: Users could also see machine logs surface from prompts. When troubleshooting, MachineAgent will suggest actions users can take to get the production line back up and running.
Part of a New AI-Defined Automation Era
At IMTS, the Vention team also announced a new generation of automation they are pioneering: AI-Defined Automation. Each layer of the automation project lifecycle is powered by Agentic and/or Physical AI, and historically manual-only elements of the process are newly automated.
MachineAgent is a key driver for the agentic elements of automation. Today, it means designing, programming, and monitoring smarter, but the future includes even more agentic skills and tools for the MCP gateway, the Vention CLI and VDT, and for Copilot.
By using both forms of AI, teams can take their automation projects from concept to deployment in an accelerated, accessible way.
Test Out Vention For Yourself
If you missed IMTS, don’t worry. There are plenty of trade show announcements to come. You can also talk to one of our experts for a personalized guide through tools like MachineAgent, and how to get support for your automation project from start to finish.
Learn more about AI-Defined Automation with our complete guide.
