Where industrial efficiency is really won today
EDITOR’ S CHOICE COLLABORATIVE ROBOTICS
TERADYNE
Where industrial efficiency is really won today
By Birol Esmer, Director of Software Product & Applications, Mobile Industrial Robots
Internal logistics has long remained in the background of industrial conversation. The focus was on productivity, quality, line automation and cycle times. Less attention was paid to what happens between one stage and the next. And yet this is exactly where hidden costs can build up.
Today, that picture is changing. In many plants, logistics and intralogistics are no longer seen as secondary functions, but as one of the main areas where a company’ s ability to be fast, flexible, and resilient is put to the test.
This is where collaborative robotics is finding some of its most compelling applications for material transport, both through collaborative industrial robot arms( cobots), which handle the tasks themselves, and through autonomous mobile robots( AMRs), which help with flow.
Combined, these approaches help make the entire production ecosystem smoother. This is the point at which logistics becomes a competitive lever. So, the question for companies is not whether to automate, but where collaborative automation can generate the most value.
Collaborative applications in logistics
There are five easy-to-understand application areas that stand out today.
1. End-of-line palletising and depalletising, especially where flows
Logistics and intralogistics are no longer seen as secondary functions, but as one of the main areas where a company’ s ability to be fast, flexible, and resilient is put to the test.
are continuous, but the product mix changes frequently.
2. Packing and order preparation, which is an area that is becoming increasingly important, especially for companies with e-commerce channels or fragmented shipping profiles.
3. Line feeding and assembly bay replenishment, where the value lies in the punctuality and continuity of the flow.
4. The handling of full and empty pallets, which is central to avoiding congestion and downtime.
5. Integrating machine automation and internal logistics, where cobots become the connecting point between a machine, a workstation and the material handling system.
Cobots and AMRs prove particularly effective in handling, end-of-line, packaging, palletising and machine tending operations, precisely where flow continuity meets task precision.
The compact size of cobots also makes it possible to move them from one area to another, helping companies respond to seasonal or unexpected changes in production flow and reinforce areas under strain or subject to heavy workloads.
18 PECM Issue 83