Food Robotics

by Bennett Brumson , Contributing Editor

Robotic Industries AssociationPOSTED 03/19/2007
 
Deploying robotics in many industries is so routine, that it is taken as a given. The presence of robotics
in other industries, such as in the food market, is relatively low. The potential for robotics in the food
and beverage industry is immense, for both ‘‘traditional’‘ applications such as picking, packing and
palletizing, as well as for cutting-edge applications such as meat cutting and beverage dispensing.  
A lot of food manufactures are limited because they do not think about robotics. If
food manufacturers use standard robotic systems for the transferring and cutting
of their product, they will see more flexibility,’‘ says Sylvie Algarra, Product
Marketing Manager at Stäubli Robotics, Duncan, South Carolina.
 
P3
Robotics in the food and beverage industry are generally divided into three main
categories, picking, packing and palletizing. Picking is usually the first of these
processes, followed by the packing, then palletizing. Michael Crane, Consumer
Goods Segment Manager at QComp Technologies, Inc., Greenville, Wisconsin,
defines robotic picking to be ‘‘high-speed individual pick and loading trays.
Examples are high-speed robots picking chocolates and loading them into a
wrapping machine.’‘
Because picking operations tend to be early in the food manufacturing process, it is important that they be done
correctly. Richard Tallian, Consumer Industry Segment Manager, Robotic Products Group at ABB, Inc., Auburn
Hills, Michigan, speaks of robotic food and beverage picking. ‘‘Food robotics have more challenges at the
beginning of the production line than at the end, because picking deals with food products that are irregular in
shape. When going down the production line, product is more consistent in shape.’‘
Tallian adds that product orientation is something that integrators have to keep in mind with robotic food picking
applications. ‘‘Generally, product is randomly oriented so some may be touching or overlapping,’‘ Tallian says.
‘‘Operators have to determine whether they are seeing bad product or overlapping product. Vision has a lot to
deal with in picking applications.’‘ Tallian also says vision systems determine orientation of the product for correct
placement.
Pack ’Em
Robotic packing of food is segmented in to primary and secondary packaging. Primary packaging is the placing of
foods into the first wrapper or layer of packaging. Secondary packaging has the robot inserting the primary
wrapped food product into the next layer of packaging, such as a box, case, carton or tray.
Laxmi P. Musunur, Packaging Segment Manager at FANUC Robotics America, Inc. Rochester Hills, Michigan,
speaks of robotic food packaging applications. ‘‘Robotics have the most penetration in the packaging side of the
food industry. Primary packaging is product that has been wrapped in one form, while secondary packaging has
primary packaged foods put into trays or boxes,’‘ says Musunur. He continues by saying that a lot of packaging is
done by hard automation, but the role of robotics is on the rise. ‘‘FANUC has installed fewer robots in the
packaging of raw foods, but that is an area that we see significant opportunities.’‘
Sylvie Algarra of Stäubli says that robotic food handling often has several applications being undertaken on the
same production line, including packaging. ‘‘Food is being processed, with other applications, such as slicing,
positioning, and dish-making. For example, people are buying outdoor meals like cakes, salads and sandwiches.
The food industry has to slice these and package them into individual portions.’‘ Algarra asserts that a major
difference between primary and secondary packing is the need for speed in the former. ‘‘In primary packaging, the
production rate is important as it is five times faster than in secondary packaging.’‘
The variety of food packaging gives robotics an advantage over hard automation. Packaging variety was
addressed by Clay Cooper, Engineering Manager at Applied Robotics, Inc., Glenville, New York.
‘‘Consumer food packaging has gone through many transformations, from cartons, to stand-up pouches, to
foil. Unless a new hard automation system is developed for each new type of packaging, food manufacturers
have to resort back to manual systems or use robots,’‘ Cooper says. ‘‘Robots have the inherent flexibility to
handle a variety of packaging.’‘ Flexibility is the main reason that robots are going to take over the task of
packaging food from hard automation, says Cooper.
Likewise, Derek Rickard, Distribution Systems Manager at RMT Robotics Ltd., Grimsby, Ontario, Canada,
says that the ever-changing varieties of packaging styles and materials poses a challenge for robotic food
packing applications. ‘‘The packaging itself has a great deal to do with the packing process because
package design comes in such a variety. That is great for retailers, but for automation companies, it means
dealing with a lot of variation, such as boxes, trays and shrink wrap.’‘ RMT's picking applications are suited to deal
with such a variety of packaging.
John Holmes, Key Account Manager at PIAB Vacuum Products, Hingham, Massachusetts, is also thinking about
the wide variety of food packaging. ‘‘Robotics is seeing growth in packaging applications because multiple
products are coming down a line, which requires flexibility,’‘ Holmes says. ‘‘Traditional food packaging lines used
to handle one type of packaging, now they have to handle up to five and their production runs are much shorter.’‘
Stack ’Em
Palletizing has robots putting the cases or cartons that contain packaged foods onto a shipping pallet. While
palletizing is usually relatively straightforward, this application becomes more complex when food manufacturers
need to ship mixed load pallets. Joseph Reams, Technical Sales Manager at Schmalz, Inc., Raleigh, North
Carolina, explains how mixed product pallets are put together robotically. ‘‘Schmalz takes several products and
creates mixed SKUs to go from a distribution warehouse to the individual store. We put a layer of one item on a
pallet, then another layer on top of that with a different product.’‘ Schmalz provides grippers for palletizing.
Because some foods require low temperatures to prevent spoilage, creating mixed pallets often needs to be done
within a cold room. Functioning in low temperatures presents greater demands on equipment, particularly
grippers. ‘‘When mixing SKUs, grippers need to handle that variety of items. Foam pads can handle a wider range
of products,’‘ says Joseph Reams. ‘‘Temperature becomes an issue with foam rubber pad on grippers. When
foam pads are brought into a freezing environment, they tend to freeze when exposed to moisture. The foam
becomes unresponsive,’‘  Reams says. When foam padded grippers are not appropriate, integrators turn to using
suction cups.
Suction cups are also on the mind of John Holmes of PIAB. Holmes says that vacuum-driven silicone suction
cups pose no threat of contaminating food products. ‘‘Air-driven vacuum pumps do not require oil and do
not generate heat, so are very safe,’‘ Holmes says. Silicone suction cups must be food grade, Holmes
adds.
Palletizing applications in the food and beverage sector make heavy use of vision, particularly when
Virginia, delineates the multiple roles of vision in food palletizing applications. ‘‘Vision is used for product
recognition, finding orientation, and for inspection. For example, as frozen bread rolls come out of a freezer, some
of their dimensions might not meet specifications,’‘ Schouten says. ‘‘Vision systems help pick up the product, but
end-users can also use vision as a secondary quality control inspection.’‘
Burgers, Beers and Robots
Food and beverage robotics perform tasks other than picking, packing and palletizing. Robotics are increasingly
used for applications as diverse as butchering of meat and dispensing beverages. Robotic meat cutting is still a
rare application in North America, but is more common in Europe. KUKA Robotics Corp., Clinton Township,
Michigan, is one company that has implemented meat cutting work cells in Europe. William A. Willard, National
Accounts Manager for Food and Beverage applications at KUKA comments on the function of robotics in meat
processing lines. ‘‘KUKA is working with companies that specialize in food processing in Europe who have
applied our robots.’‘ Willard explains that after an animal has been processed, robots do the prime cutting. He
says that robotic meat cutting is performed in a similar way that a butcher does except that a hog, for instance, is
oriented vertically rather than horizontally.
Robotic meat cutting, like other food and beverage applications, utilizes vision to accomplish its chore.
KUKA’s systems employs infrared scanning of pigs and cows prior to robotic butchering. Again, KUKA’s
William Willard: ‘‘KUKA does infrared scanning of the body to make a three-dimensional image of it. Internal
algorithms determine where the cut needs to be made,’‘ Willard says. ‘‘The robot’s software is interpolating
exactly the carcass’s precise position and where the robot’s arm has to be to take a certain action.’‘
Laxmi Musunur of FANUC also says robotics have a role in cutting meat. ‘‘A large piece of meat is on a moving
conveyor. A vision system using a laser scanner determines the meat’s topography and cuts a perfect slice out of
it,’‘ Musunur says.
‘‘With the availability of integrated vision (robot vision built-in to the robot controller) it’s now very easy to
incorporate vision into a wide range of applications,’‘ added Musunur.  FANUC Robotics’ has an integrated vision
system that can be applied to virtually any picking, packing or palletizing application.
 
On the beverage side of food robots, Motoman Inc., West Carrollton, Ohio, offers several unique RoboBar
service robot systems for dispensing beverages. RoboBar is available in high-production, entertainment and
a non-alcohol versions, each designed to fill a particular market niche. Ron Potter, Motoman's Senior
Director of Emerging Markets, describes each of them. ‘‘Motoman's RoboBar HP (high production) model is
meant for high-volume service bars in places like casinos, cruise ships or airports. It can mix hundreds of recipes
of drinks through dispensing guns that pump the liquor and mixes, and can also add ice, if desired.’‘ Potter gives
an example of a mixed drink order. ‘‘If a customer wanted a Long Island iced tea, a server would place the order
through a touch screen. RoboBar HP would mix the six ingredients, perfectly portioned, in
about twenty seconds.’‘
The incentive for service bars and casinos to invest in RoboBar HP stems from the fact it can work around the
clock and do the equivalent work of four bartenders. Another version of RoboBar, NA or non-alcohol model,
dispenses hot drinks such as coffee, espresso, cappuccino, and lattes. Furthermore, RoboBar NA serves up
sodas, fruit juices and other non-alcoholic beverages. Motoman has sold a RoboBar NA to a company in Dubai,
where it is being installed in a futuristic office building. Finally, the RoboBar E (entertainment model), pours
cocktails directly from liquor bottles and one is in the process of being set up in Harrods Department Store in
London, according to Potter. ‘‘RoboBar E generally uses one arm to pick up a glass and add ice while the other
arm pours or dispenses,’‘ says Potter.
A Motoman dual-arm robot is at the heart of all three RoboBar models. The robot is one of Motoman's standard
robots that is also used for machine loading applications. Potter says, ‘‘Automotive manufacturers are currently
using about 1,000 of these robots in Japan and the US.’‘ He went on to describe RoboBar's gripper: ‘‘The system
uses a standard Schunk servo gripper, which is ideal for handling a variety of bottle and glass sizes and shapes.’‘
Both robot arms are equipped grippers to manipulate bottles and glasses. Automatic beer bottle decapping is also
completed by the robot.
To successfully implement a solution for food-related work cells, integrators and end-users need to keep in
mind that the robot is not dealing with just another manufactured product. Rick Hoskins, Vice President of
Sales and Marketing at Colborne Corp., Lake Forest, Illinois sums this up. ‘‘Integrators must understand
how food products change over time and react to certain movements. You are not dealing with rigid products, you
are dealing with living organisms that change rapidly and are very fragile.’‘
Editor’s Note:
For more information, you may contact any of the experts listed in this article or visit Robotics Online, Tips & Tech
Papers.
Richard Tallian, Consumer Industry Segment Manager, Robotic Products Group,  ABB, Inc., 720-889-4003,
richard.tallian@us.abb.com
Clay Cooper, Engineering Manager, Applied Robotics, Inc., 518-384-1000, ccooper@arobotics.com
Laxmi P. Musunur, Packaging Segment Manager, FANUC Robotics America, Inc., 248-377-7000,
Laxmi.Musunur@fanucrobotics.com
Hans Schouten, Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Flexicell Inc. 804-550-7300,
hans.schouten@flexicell.com
Rick Hoskins, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Colborne Corp., 847-371-0101, rick4@colborne.com
William M. Willard, National Accounts Manager for Food and Beverage, KUKA Robotics Corp., 404-475-3890,
BillWillard@KUKARobotics.com
Ron Potter, Senior Director of Emerging Markets, Motoman, Inc., 937-847-6200,
ron.potter@motoman.com
John Holmes, Key Accounts Manager, PIAB Vacuum Products, 781-337-7309, jholmes@piab.com
Michael Crane, Consumer Goods Segment Manager, QComp Technologies, Inc., 262-784-9034,
mcrane@qcomptech.com
Derek Rickard, Distribution Systems Manager, RMT Robotics Ltd. 905-643-9700,
DerekRickard@rmtrobotics.com
Joseph Reams, Technical Sales Manager, Schmalz, Inc., 919-713-088, j.reams@schmalzinc.com
Sylvie Algarra, Product Marketing Manager, Stäubli Robotics, 33-(0)4-50-65-67-57, s.algarra@staubli.com