First DLG Symposium on robotics in the food industry, held at the DIL, was very successful

Robotics offers a huge potential for the food industry. This is the unanimous conclusion of the DLG Symposium “Robots in Food Production” that took place March 3-4, 2010, at DIL in Quakenbrück, Germany. 40 professionals from various fields including manufacturers of robots, equipment suppliers as well as food producers discussed opportunities and challenges of employing industrial robots for the flexible automation of food production processes.

One key aspect was the use of robots in processes with direct food contact, e.g. in primary packaging processes. Highly qualified lecturers from science and industry explained the progress made in robotics in the past years. For example, the high requirements in terms of hygiene and cleanability are increasingly taken into consideration. Other lectures dealt with the grippers, the robot’s tools, and the image processing that make the robot “see what it is doing”.

Key aspect of the second day was the view of the users. They described clearly and impressively their experience with the use of robots in their companies. Main requirements for an economically successful and sustainable application of this technology in food production environments are the early inclusion of all employees concerned and a long-term planning of the robot-aided automation solution.

The symposium ended with a tour through the DIL including an introduction of the food robotics capabilities of the institute.