March 2020 - 24
Road to
Robotics
Food production industry entering
era of automation expansion
By Zeke Jennings
VGN Correspondent
The food industry is entering an era
similar to one the automobile industry
went through decades ago. Automation is
coming, that we know. How and to what
capacity remain to be seen.
Robotics was featured prominently at
PACK EXPO Las Vegas last fall. Machines
that can grip, sort and pack could be
found throughout the massive show floor,
and there was even a Robotics Zone area
dedicated solely to the latest technology.
For produce processors, many of
Soft Robotics' mGrip picks a strawberry out of a carton on a production line.
Photo: Soft Robotics
whom already are dealing with skilled
and unskilled labor struggles, replacing
human workers with robotics will be
front of mind in the coming years. With
computerized vision technology and
artificial intelligence (AI) still evolving,
these could be tricky waters to navigate.
Rick Brookshire, director of product
development at Epson Robotics, offered
a few suggestions on things companies
should detail when starting to think about
automation.
" Instead of just saying, 'We make these.
Can you help?' We want people to be
thinking about how many they want to
make in a month, " Brookshire said. " That
helps us determine cycle times and how
many robots.
" Also, do you have your current process
documented? Is it a five-part process? Is
it a 20-part process? What kind of tooling
do you think you're going to need? What
is your payload? These are all things you
need to think about before you go talk to a
robot vendor. "
Safety regulations and transparency
that food producers deal with is another
important aspect when it comes to
thinking about automation, said Lisa
Donnelly, vice president of marketing for
Soft Robotics.
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Contact:
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22 | VegetableGrowersNews.com
bejoseeds.com
http://www.bejoseeds.com
http://www.VegetableGrowersNews.com
March 2020
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