In the first part of this two-part article, we looked at how the use of robotics could help solve some of the problems brought on by COVID-19, especially those of needing to create social distancing and keeping production moving along when people are out sick. We also looked briefly at robot vision, and found that AI and machine learning will play a bigger role in robotics, creating new applications that will be cost-effective in the food and beverage industry. A separate article, "Robotics service and maintenance during the COVID-19 pandemic," describes how robot/automation suppliers are working around the coronavirus pandemic to provide service and maintenance support to their customers.
What can we expect in the future of vision-guided robotics that is practical, reliable and cost-effective? There are tremendous advances being made in vision for measuring product density for portioning, inspecting packaging seal integrity and checking for low-density foreign materials, says Sam Collup, director of sales for Cantrell-Gainco Group. As robotics become more economical and customers’ needs change to reduce reliance on human staffing, robotics for repetitive tasks such as cutting, positioning, and pick-and-place tasks will become more accepted by customers.