Trendspotting from Elmia Automation's conference on Robot-Based Automation

Hello, Lars-Gustaf Gustafsson , researcher at RISE. You attended Elmia Automation's conference on Robot-Based Automation in September. One of the key themes at the conference was the green transformation of the manufacturing industry. Tell us more!?

“The conference demonstrated that sustainability, energy, and resource efficiency are becoming increasingly significant to the Swedish industry. Where price, delivery precision, and quality, historically were the main areas of focus, sustainability has now emerged as an equally important aspect. It was evident at the conference that smart and flexible automation has a positive impact on the environment. To remain competitive on the European and global market, different parts of the manufacturing processes need to be automated. There will also be a greater demand for tailored solutions which will require a more symbiotic relationship between man and robot. This has led to a recent surge in the use of cobots.”?

What are cobots??

“A cobot, or collaborative robot, is basically an application where a robot is designed to collaboratively interact with humans in a shared workspace. Traditionally, industrial robot applications are isolated from humans, so this is a completely new way of thinking within the industry. Collaborative solutions create the possibility of very flexible automation, which goes hand in hand with the sustainability aspect.”?

Flexibility and demand-driven manufacturing is certainly a hot topic right now, but is it economically sound? ?

“Flexibility and piece-by-piece manufacturing can certainly be financially viable, if done properly. To get there, you need to challenge a few old truths. In the past, the emphasis was on assessing the hourly production volume in relation to quality, ergonomics, and pace. This analysis had to factor in the risks of overproduction and inventory costs. With the inclusion of considerations like carbon footprint, automation, digitalization, and AI, the equation takes on a new dimension. Piece-by-piece manufacturing allows for balancing production according to demand. Decreasing the production rate and batch size can actually be more cost efficient. However, to enable a sustainable and economically viable transition, companies must improve their capacity for change. This involves placing greater emphasis on the human aspect.”?

What impressions or insights will you carry with you from the conference??

“That the industry has made significant progress with the technical and digital solutions, but adaptability and business development in companies lag behind. I believe that RISE could contribute even more within this field than we do today. It also became evident that maintaining traditional craftmanship is essential to sustain this level of technological advancement; we must not lose our ability to design, engineer and prepare for production. Machine learning is very capable, but welders, CNC operators, assemblers, production technicians, and other professionals within the trade, are needed to feed the robot with fundamental data. If we lack access to the right competences, there is a substantial risk that AI will acquire incorrect information. This loss of expert knowledge is something that I can see is happening in the industry already. I believe that analog expertise will become exceedingly important as we go along.”?

Learn more about RISE Research Institutes of Sweden 's work in sustainable automation here:?https://www.ri.se/sv/vad-vi-gor/expertiser/hallbar-automation