Automate 2025 delivered a high-energy week of innovation and insight at Huntington Place in Detroit. One of the most talked-about sessions came from the Automate LIVE studio, where renowned automation industry player Jim Beretta sat down with Sina Afrooze, Founder and CEO of Apera AI, for a candid and insightful discussion on how artificial intelligence and augmented reality are transforming robotic automation.

Host Jim Beretta set the stage by introducing Sina Afrooze as a thought leader in 4D vision for robotic automation. From the start, the conversation zeroed in on Apera AI’s core mission:

“All the robots in the world either don’t have eyes or they have poor vision. We give robots 20/20 vision,” said Afrooze.

Jim prompted Sina to break down the problem further, and Sina explained how Apera AI’s focus is on mission-critical applications in automotive, appliance, and heavy machinery manufacturing—industries where accuracy, speed, and uptime are essential. 

4D Vision allows robots to see with precision, even in chaotic, unstructured environments—giving them 99.9% accuracy in recognizing and handling jumbled parts in bins, misaligned jigs, or dinged-up racks. The results?

With his signature journalistic curiosity, Jim Beretta asked Sina about the company’s origins. Sina shared a compelling backstory:

“The entire inspiration for the company was a Tier 1 auto supplier who said, ‘All these things we want to automate, we just can’t because the robots don’t have good enough vision.’”

That pain point became Apera AI’s mission. Sina described how Apera AI tackled the toughest challenge first: random bin picking, calling it “the holy grail” of vision-guided robotics. Apera AI’s breakthrough technology proved up to the task—and now supports a broader set of applications across the factory floor of manufacturers internationally. 

As Jim steered the conversation into current manufacturing challenges, labor shortages quickly came to the forefront. Sina laid it out clearly:

“One of the big challenges today is labor shortage. Not only is labor hard to hire, but turnover is really high.”

Jim emphasized how automation is increasingly necessary for manufacturers to maintain throughput and meet demand. Sina agreed, noting that robots equipped with Apera AI’s vision software are helping companies automate tasks like loading, unloading, racking, and stacking—areas previously off-limits to traditional robotics automation due to complexity and variability.

Jim also pushed on the question of system reliability. “Resiliency” was a key word throughout the conversation, especially in how systems handle unpredictable real-world conditions.

“Lighting always changes. Skylights, windows, daytime, nighttime—our systems are resilient to all of that,” explained Sina. “We even have systems working outdoors.”

Jim added a practical note on manufacturing reality: production downtime is expensive. Sina echoed that notion:

“A line can lose tens of thousands of dollars from just 15 or 20 minutes of downtime. Our systems adapt to lighting, part placement, rack shifts—so the line keeps moving.”

During the interview, Jim highlighted the importance of live demonstrations, and Sina eagerly described the two standout demos Apera AI brought to Automate 2025.

“No two racks are the same after six months on a factory floor,” Sina said. “We treat racks like obstacles and adjust paths automatically.”

At Jim’s prompt, Sina unveiled Apera Forge AR, a new tool to be released later this year that merges digital twin technology with augmented reality for streamlining robotic cell design.

“You can drop a robot cell right on your factory floor using AR. Walk around it, check for obstacles, and simulate how it will function—all in real time.”

Jim noted how traditionally this process could take weeks, and Sina agreed, emphasizing the high cost of proof of concepts projects for robotic cell design. Later this year, Forge AR will allow teams to evaluate ideas instantly with augmented reality—cutting cycles by weeks, de-risking investments, and making early-stage feasibility work much more accessible.

As the session wrapped up, Jim Beretta asked about what’s next for Apera AI. Sina Afrooze revealed an exciting development: Apera AI will be opening a new training facility in Detroit in 2025. The center will help integrators and end-users level up their 4D Vision automation skills, offering hands-on training and a faster path to factory-floor deployment.

“The more factories we enter, the more customers are asking to train their own engineers. Our new center will allow them to get certified and deploy systems much faster.”

Jim Beretta closed the interview by recognizing the momentum behind Apera AI’s technology. In just 15 minutes, they covered how AI and AR are converging to solve real-world manufacturing problems—from labor challenges to downtime prevention to faster deployments.

Sina’s final message was clear: the future of robotics in manufacturing isn’t just about hardware—it’s about smart, adaptable, vision-driven systems that scale with the demands of modern production.

If you didn’t catch Sina Afrooze live, be sure to watch the replay here. This wasn’t just a glimpse into what’s next—it was a clear, practical view of what’s already here.