Episode 344: Universal Robots at MODEX 2022
Universal Robots joins this week’s episode of The New Warehouse podcast to discuss how their robotic solutions improve the world one cobot at a time. Joe Campbell is the Senior Manager of Applications Development and Strategic Marketing at Universal Robots. Joe shares insights on the industry and how simplifying the adoption of automation is helping smaller and medium-sized businesses.
Key Takeaways
- Universal Robots delivered the first collaborative robot, or “cobots,” to market successfully. Cobots allow skilled human workers to collaborate with robots without needing the typical safety protocols for traditional automation, such as guarding and interlocks. These capabilities have opened up many new opportunities in various industries, from electronics manufacturing to food production.
- The flexibility and simplicity of new automation systems facilitate deeper adoption of automation technologies for smaller and medium-sized operations. Universal Robots showcased two products at MODEX 2022 at opposite ends of the spectrum, a palletizer, and an advanced mixed SKU de-palletizing system. The do-it-yourself programming of the palletizer is straightforward and easy to use, making it ideal for small shops or lean integration. The mixed-SKU system from OEM partner Newgen is more complex and may require deeper integration when installing sensors or peripherals.
- The physically demanding job of trailer unloading is one task many companies wish to automate. Joe and Kevin discuss all the energy going into unloading trailers robotics-wise, something that has been difficult to achieve in the past.