What We Realized Final Time

Automatica is simply across the nook — one of many world’s greatest and most fun commerce gala’s targeted on automation and robotics.

At Robotiq, we’ve got been going to Automatica for years. This might be our fourth outing as a workforce. Each time we go, we get dozens of distinctive insights into what’s new in our trade and what we have to control over the next years.

What precious insights did we study in earlier years that may assist you to put together for this 12 months’s present?

As all the time, this 12 months we’ll be bringing the most recent information and developments on to you… proper from the ground of Automatica itself. We’ll be reside running a blog and posting to social media all through the occasion.

We’ve dozens of articles from our previous Automatica protection.

Listed below are some issues we discovered up to now…

What do you assume has modified post-pandemic?

The final incarnation of Automatica was in 2018, two years earlier than the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. They needed to cancel the deliberate occasion in 2020.

Most industries have skilled seismic adjustments over the previous few years. How do you assume these adjustments will have an effect on the automation trade?

I feel there are 3 prospects for the way the worldwide scenario has affected our trade and the numerous firms inside it:

1. Nothing has modified. Maybe the whole lot has been “on pause” through the pandemic and we’ll see few adjustments at Automatica. This appears unlikely, nevertheless it’s attainable.

2. There are huge adjustments! Maybe the pandemic has turned the automation trade utterly on its head. Possibly we’ll see large shifts available in the market with dozens of latest entrants to the automation area and utterly new developments.

3. A gradual tempo. Or maybe the automation trade has simply been advancing at a secure price. There might be some new entrants, however most of the current gamers will nonetheless type the spine of the trade.

Personally, I feel there might be a combination between all 3 of those. Some firms may have stopped adapting and gone into “preservation mode” through the pandemic. Others may have modified up their choices utterly.

Total, I reckon that the trade will hold advancing at a gradual price. That is what the robotics trade has finished during the last 30 years, in any case.

5 classes we discovered on the final Automatica

Our predicted regular progress of robotics and automation is one thing we’ve got seen in earlier variations of Automatica.

For instance, listed below are 5 issues we discovered at Automatica 2018:

1. The expansion and acceptance of cobots was now right here

We’ve watched the evolution of collaborative robots since Robotiq’s story started in 2008. Over that point, cobots have seen an preliminary skepticism, a rising standing as “the brand new pattern,” and a ultimate acceptance into the trade.

Automatica 2018 was the primary 12 months when it felt like cobots had lastly “arrived.” They had been now not the brand new child on the block, as that they had been at earlier years.

2. Good factories had been in all places

One enjoyable side of Automatica 2018 was the plethora of good manufacturing unit demos. For instance, we extremely loved the KUKA good manufacturing unit sales space, the place you would order a bespoke robotic mannequin to be made on-the-spot of their manufacturing unit demo.

This enjoyable sort of demo is barely attainable due to the convenience and portability of contemporary robots. We hope to see some equally enjoyable demos this 12 months!

3. There was a pattern in direction of teeny tiny robots

An fascinating pattern in 2018 was the race for robotic producers to create “the world’s smallest robotic.” We noticed a number of tiny tabletop robots, from ABB, Comau, and Yaskawa.

Will this pattern in direction of tiny robots proceed on this 12 months’s Automatica? We must wait and see.

4. Straightforward robotic programming was The Large Factor

At Robotiq, we’ve got been championing straightforward robotic programming for years. However Automatica 2018 was really the 12 months when straightforward programming grew to become the “should have” characteristic.

It appears seemingly that straightforward robotic programming will proceed to be vital at this 12 months’s present. We count on there to be much more choices for programming.

5. Superior imaginative and prescient bought the “straightforward programming therapy”

One pattern at Automatica 2018 was robotic imaginative and prescient options. There have been laser-based techniques, 3D bin-picking options, and numerous different superior imaginative and prescient sensing applied sciences.

A number of imaginative and prescient options are complicated to program. Nevertheless, on the final Automatica, we had been seeing easier programming choices for imaginative and prescient functions. We introduced introduced updates to our Robotiq Digicam on the occasion, for instance.

Will we see these identical developments at Automatica 2022?

Within the robotics and automation trade, developments usually to advance at a gradual price.

At every Automatica, you’ll be able to often see the “seeds” of the brand new developments that can develop into The Subsequent Large Factor.

This time, we’ve got had 4 years of a spot between variations of Automatica. We’ve additionally had an entire world pandemic!

Will the developments we noticed final time even be massive at Automatica 2022?

We will make some guesses as to what would be the massive developments this 12 months (and we’ll do this in an upcoming publish). However we’ll solely know for positive after we get to the present itself!

Maintain your eyes out for our reside Automatica protection!

Do you need to hear in regards to the newest developments in robotics as they arrive out?

This 12 months, we’ll be reside running a blog once more from the ground of Automatica 2022. Even if you cannot make the present itself, you’ll be able to expertise the motion by way of our running a blog protection.

You’ll be able to comply with our protection right here on the weblog and on our social media channels.

And if you may make the present, come and say “Good day!” to us. Our sales space this 12 months is Corridor B4.502.

Cannot look forward to the present? Do not hesitate to achieve out to us.

What do you assume would be the greatest robotics developments this 12 months? Inform us within the feedback under or be part of the dialogue on LinkedIn, Twitter, Fb, or the DoF skilled robotics group.