Robots are on the rise, making their way into co-packing facilities. Since the 1980’s, robots have been used in palletizing applications, but have since advanced to perform co-packing tasks alongside humans. Packaging World spoke with the OEM of these robots and cited several benefits of using them in the field. Most interestingly, the robot does not require programming. It is equipped with “teach mode,” which allows the operator to simply move the arms of the robot through the motions of a task. The robot is then ready to go. Since it automatically generates a code, you only need to “train” the robot on a task one time. How efficient is that?
Like most new technologies, there are potential limitations to co-pack robots. Speed and weight capacity are a couple of factors to consider, but for the most part, there seem to be some viable benefits for co-packers.
What are your thoughts on co-pack robots? Would you consider using them in your facility?