DIGITAL ENTERPRISE FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The answer to a growing need for flexibility in the food industry? As the population continues to jump on the latest food trends, manufacturers across Europe are already making incremental changes to their production lines to benefit from the inherent adaptability that robotic automation brings. Take for example Panda
Confectionery in Finland, a producer of a range of vegan liquorice and supplier to many UK supermarkets. At its production facility in Denmark, ABB’s YuMi collaborative robot is used to fill boxes of sweets before distribution. YuMi selects an empty box
and places it under the dispenser. When the box is full,
YuMi repositions it and places a lid on top. The arm pivots and moves the box forward to the lid seal where a sticker is added. Panda Confectionery
developed this line because it recognised that the vegan pick and mix market is growing.
simplicity, the dual and single arm versions of ABB’s YuMi robot can work safely alongside humans, assembling, testing and packaging small goods. Equipped with flexible hands and integrated vision, YuMi can assemble small parts and place the finished product in a box ready for shipment.
NEW HORIZONS IN HEALTHCARE At the same time the healthcare sector is undergoing significant transformation as the diagnosis and treatment of disease advances. Coping with an ageing population, increasing costs and a growing worldwide shortage of medical staff presents its own unique set of challenges. Healthcare is also starting to use robots to
address these challenges and enhance patient satisfaction. ABB has opened its first global healthcare research hub on the Texas Medical Centre (TMC) campus, in Houston – showcasing a number of concept technologies, including a mobile YuMi robot, which will be designed to assist medical and science staff with laboratory and logistics tasks in hospitals. The dual-arm mobile YuMi will be able to sense
and navigate its way around its human co-workers autonomously, while learning to find different routes from one location to another. It has the potential to undertake a wide range of repetitive and time-consuming activities, including preparation of medicines, loading and unloading centrifuges, pipetting and handling liquids and picking up and sorting test tubes. The mobile YuMi could also be used in hospitals for a wide
variety of logistics roles. YuMi may be able to dispense medicines, transport them to where they are needed, bring medical supplies to hospital staff and bed linen direct to patients’ wards. At the TMC Innovation Institute, ABB will develop robots to
carry out repetitive, delicate and mundane processes, leaving highly skilled medical and laboratory staff free to undertake more valuable roles and ultimately treat more patients. ABB analysis shows that
12 /// Testing & Test Houses /// December 2019
Using YuMi enables the manufacturer to not only raise productivity but also quickly adapt to new orders. In today’s market, with alternative food products continually being introduced, manufacturers the world over have much to gain from following this example.
As the world continues to be
reshaped by digitisation, faster demands and shifting health trends, robots are increasingly being used to improve flexibility, to meet consumer needs and to maintain quality and productivity in a wide range of industries. Any business that wishes to
remain competitive can make a small beginning with a robotic cell or a collaborative robot, as the starting point in a journey towards full-scale automation. And making a shift to robots
does not have to be done in one go. Businesses can identify the processes that can be easily improved using robots, make incremental changes and build from there.
❱❱ From below downwards: complex selection and placement tasks can be achieved using robotic cells in the food industry; in manufacturing, robotics are being increasingly used in more complex tasks working with human operators; and in the healthcare industry, mobile robots can be used for making deliveries between wards
repetitive tasks could be completed up to 50 per cent faster with automation, compared to current manual processes, with the added benefit that robots can work 24 hours a day. TMC is the largest medical complex in the world
with world-class collaborative research resources, including some of the world’s largest companies and hospitals. ABB’s new 5,300sq ft (500sq m) Healthcare Hub will be housed at the TMC Innovation Institute, a state-of-the-art hub that fosters collaboration of medicine and cutting-edge technology, connecting start-ups with pioneers in academia and technology companies in order to accelerate the development and prototyping of breakthrough medical technology. Robotic automation in the healthcare sector offers
significant opportunity for future growth. According to internal ABB research, the global market is estimated to reach nearly 60,000 non-surgical medical robots by 2025, a fourfold increase from 2018. T&TH
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