In 2026, Valk Welding is taking an important step towards the future of fully autonomous production. The company is introducing a new, groundbreaking development within its Automatic Robot Programming (ARP) software: AI-driven product recognition, also known as AI Driven Similarities.

This innovation shifts robotic welding from traditional automation to intelligent, self-thinking welding processes. The new functionality makes it possible to automatically recognize product geometries and immediately link them to the most optimal, database-based "best practice" welding parameters. As a result, the time-consuming process of manual programming is virtually eliminated.

With AI Driven Similarities, Valk Welding says it has created a technology that:

• eliminates the need for programming, allowing robots to be deployed immediately;
• delivers consistent welding results based on years of collected and validated quality data;
• makes complex or variable production processes easily scalable, without additional programming or personnel costs;
• contributes to higher output, predictability and production continuity, even in high-mix, low-volume environments.

The step aligns with the company's vision of developing solutions that let customers produce flexibly, efficiently and future-proof, despite increasing work complexity and the growing demand for skilled professionals across the industry.

Valk Welding plans to present AI Driven Similarities at several major international trade fairs during 2026, where visitors can see how the technology "thinks and acts like a master welder." The company frames the release as setting a new standard for autonomous welding, bringing the industry closer to a production environment in which robots not only perform tasks, but also think along, learn and optimize.