AI robot takes the strain off employees
In a company from the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, the supply of chemical substances for processing in the downstream plant was organised manually for a long time: Employees had to lift bags weighing up to 25kg from pallets and prepare the contents for the subsequent production steps.
This process was not a good solution from both an ergonomic and an economic point of view. The fact that the contents of the sacks were also predominantly categorised as hazardous substances led to the company's decision to automate this part of the system as far as possible.
With robot vision and AI for the solution
This task was not easy due to several basic requirements. For example, the bags had to be handled with different contents and characteristics. It also had to be guaranteed that bags that were not picked up exactly in the centre would not tear when lifted or during the subsequent movement.
For the latter, an application-specific vacuum suction gripper was developed. In collaboration with Vision On Line, ASA Automation developed a robot system based on artificial intelligence and image processing for the task of handling the bags, which vary in geometry, their different positions and materials, and which enables safe handling of the heavy bags with contents classified as hazardous substances.
The system significantly reduces the workload for employees. A camera installed on the robot arm, an AI vision system and a special suction gripper are used here.
Under ‘More information’ you will find the complete press report from the magazine "Robotics and Production" on this exciting project.
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