As is typically the case with a closing bell timing ceremony, the gallery was packed with people. Everyone was so close to the robot, said Shepherd, that people were all touching it. The UR5 e is incapable of hurting anyone. If someone bumps into it, or it gently bumps someone, the robot stops and restarts.

ROBO Global represents the potential for robotics and automation and Universal Robotics is that promise made practical, but the event made me think about Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO who ended up relying too heavily on automation in his quest to build 500,000 Model 3s.

In light of this, I asked Shepherd if we expect too much from robotics. “Sometimes? Yes,” he said but added that Musk is an extraordinary case and situations like that can be avoided if people are educated about what robots can and can’t do. Universal Robots robots are designed, for instance, as co-work robotics or “cobots,”, those designed to work alongside humans.

Perspective helps, too. “People see this and hope it’s the next big thing. It’s just another of many choices in automation.”

In the end, the crowd applauded before, during and after UR5 e hit the button. It’s wasn’t fireworks, but it was a show.

[Article updated to clarify ROBO Global’s relationship with NYSE.]