Robots Increasing Productivity In Manufacturing

Robotic assistance can be a tremendous advantage for multiple application areas along the food supply chain, including production, processing, and distribution.

As the world population reaches over 7.5 billion, food demand rises. With this food, suppliers are under high pressure to work more effectively to fasten production. Along with these, consumers demand better quality, sustainable food to be available at their convenience.

Robotics and automation act a pivotal role in meeting this challenge. The food manufacturing sector is comparatively slow to adopt robotics compared to other industries. But, over the few years, robotics has begun to make its way into almost every link in the food supply chain, and the industry is transforming.

• Robotic Butchery

Butchery is a hard task to automate. An expert butcher will adapt every cut to the shape and position of bones and meat. Lately, manufacturers have started looking for ways to introduce robots into their factories. Some of the processes are dangerous for human workers, operating a high-speed circular saw for many hours.

Manufacturers managed to automate this action through robot manipulators and different vision sensors. The application has enhanced overall worker safety and product consistency.

• Fruit and Vegetable Pick and Place

Fruits and vegetables are tough to handle with a robot due to their different sizes and shapes. They also demand delicate handling to evade damage. Accordingly, these tasks have traditionally been handled by human workers. Nevertheless, recent developments in technologies look to change all that. For example, robot manufacturers have introduced a flexible gripper to take delicate food items.

• Robotic Cutting and Slicing

Cutting and slicing food items are easy to automate, and even kitchen food processors can slice food items into uniform shapes. Although robots are not required for these tasks, the industry has relied on robotics for more advanced cutting and slicing. For example, it incorporates fish cutting, which involves removing defects from the fish and cutting fillets to uniform shapes and sizes.

For a long time, food processing has been an elusive industry for robotic technology. The challenges inherent in food products have prevented adoption. Still, the most advanced technologies have led to the increasing use of robotics in food processing, which will likely ramp up soon as manufacturers compete to be the most productive globally.