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Cobot fridge testing


Williams Advanced Engineering co-opts collaborative robots to test its innovative design to improve supermarket fridge efficiency


Collaborative robots perform repetitive


testing for improving supermarket efrigerator efficiency


tive R&D programme that uses robots to fur- ther improve the energy efficiency of supermarket fridges. The initiative sees Inovo’s collaborative


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robots (cobots) repeatedly opening and clos- ing the doors of test fridges to emulate real- world supermarket trading conditions. These fridges feature the Williams F1-inspired Aero- foil shelf edge technology along with Aerofoil Energy’s new Vortex energy efficient fridge technology. The three companies set up the robotic test


programme in 2019 and have delivered 10 new energy saving technologies, which have al- ready entered the market and are delivering significant energy savings for supermarkets. Aerofoil’s shelf edge technology is inspired


by the design of a Formula One wing. This aerodynamic device channels the cold air that falls from the top of a fridge down the front, preventing it from spilling out into the aisle,


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illiams Advanced Engineering (WAE), Aerofoil Energy and Inovo Robotics are working together on an innova-


saving up to 30 per cent of a supermarket’s energy costs. According to Henry Wood of Inovo Robotics,


the cobots are designed for batch manufac- turing. They are modular, versatile, collabora- tive robots with a user-friendly interface which makes configuration for new tasks easy. “They are ideally suited to support the latest round of Aerofoil tests which require a repeatable and reliable system to open fridge doors, emulating conditions in the shop and supporting round-the-clock testing,” he says. Maria Nelson of Williams Advanced Engi- neering says that the organisation is de- lighted to support both Aerofoil and Inovo with a test programme, which is designed to emulate conditions inside the shop whilst measuring product temperatures and energy consumption. “The robots have proved invaluable during


this programme and we’re proud to bring two of our technology venture companies to- gether to support the testing of further en- ergy efficient technologies,” she says. THDx


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