VISION 2026 on track - strong international presence, high level of innovation and new formats

Preparations for VISION 2026 - the world’s leading trade fair for machine vision – are already in full swing, and the latest figures give cause for optimism: With around 400 exhibitors currently registered, the trade fair is on a par with the same stage of the previous event. By the time the fair takes place in October, around 500 exhibiting companies are once again expected, matching the record figures from the last edition.

Despite challenging global market conditions, the machine vision industry is proving to be extremely robust and dynamic. This is reflected both in the sector’s continued high appeal to new market entrants and in a M&A environment that remains active. More than 20% of exhibitors are taking part in VISION for the first time. Over 90% of the available exhibition space has already been allocated, with potential growth of up to 3% by the autumn.

A strong focus on internationality as a hallmark

In 2026, VISION will once again confirm its status as one of the most international trade fairs in Messe Stuttgart’s portfolio: exhibitors will be travelling from 34 countries, with around two-thirds now coming from abroad.

Companies from China will once again be strongly represented, with their share expected to exceed the 2024 level – including many new exhibitors. They are followed by the USA, the UK, Switzerland, France and Japan. There will be national pavilions from Taiwan, Japan, France, Switzerland and China, amongst others.

Highlights and new features

VISION 2026 will once again set numerous trends in terms of content:

• VISION Award: The call for papers for the 27th edition of the VISION Award will open shortly. This prestigious innovation award recognises outstanding developments in image processing. The winning companies will present their solutions live at the trade fair.
• Industrial VISION Days: In collaboration with VDMA Machine Vision, VISION is once again hosting the industry’s largest conference programme, featuring around 80 presentations over three days. Key topics include current trends, new product launches, start-up pitches, panel discussions and the VISION Award ceremony.
• Scientific VISION Days: In cooperation with the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), research institutes and universities will present their latest R&D results. The presentations from both forums will be available on demand afterwards.
• Guided Tours: In collaboration with experts from Vision Markets, guided tours and crash courses in image processing will be offered for end-users and machine builders. The key sectors are Aerospace & Defence, Automotive & Battery Manufacturing, and Electronics & Semiconductors. For the first time, there will also be guided tours in partnership with VDMA Machine Vision on the topic of vision and AI. 
• Start-up World: Around 30 young companies will be presenting their innovations there – ranging from image sensors to AI and deep learning, right through to complete vision systems – many of which are exhibiting at VISION for the first time. A “Start-up of the Day” will be chosen every day, and the VISION Start-up 2026 at the end of the fair. Another new feature is the VISION Start-up Happy Hour on Wednesday, 7 October, designed to facilitate targeted networking between industry and start-ups.
• For the first time, the Synthetic Data Symposium will take place at VISION on the mornings of 7 and 8 October in Congress West. In cooperation with Fraunhofer IPA and Fraunhofer ITWM, this new format is dedicated to one of the key future topics in industrial image processing: the use of synthetic data for AI training. The background to this is the frequent lack of high-quality training data for AI applications. Synthetic data offers promising solutions in this regard – yet the market is highly diverse and complex. At the symposium, leading experts from research and industry will provide practical insights and report on their experiences with the use of synthetic data in manufacturing and quality assurance.

VISION Makeathon: The VISION Makeathon is also making its debut, with students and young professionals working alongside exhibitors on real-world machine vision projects.

Synergies at the exhibition centre

Alongside VISION, a number of other trade fairs are taking place, including Motek & Bond Expo, Quantum Effects, the new EFX – Expo for Electronics Manufacturing, and Interbad. This creates additional cross-sector synergies and added value for visitors and exhibitors.

Conclusion

VISION 2026 is already presenting itself today with very strong figures, a high degree of internationality and an expanded range of content. In economically challenging times, it is demonstrating stability and growth potential. The VISION team is already looking forward to welcoming the global vision community back to Stuttgart in October.