After 2018, the time has come again: Automatica is back in Munich as an in-person event. The focus of both technical development and the trade fair is on artificial intelligence in the context of automation. AI-supported automation solutions are still only spreading slowly in German production, but the increase in the number of cobots in particular is promoting their introduction in many companies. Artificial intelligence has also long since arrived in quality control, particularly in real-time image processing.

Focus on vision systems

Various exhibitors will be showing cameras and sensors or software with integrated AI. Imaging is also crucial for AI-based robotics applications. Vision systems have been a prerequisite for the autonomy and flexibility of robots for years. If they are to act intelligently, powerful image processing is one of the basic requirements.

Dr. Werner Kraus, Head of the Robot and Assistance Systems department at Fraunhofer IPA, sums up the other properties that robots need to have in order to be integrated into intelligent production environments: "Image and force data are the basis for AI-supported robot functions. However, most robots today work blind by default. In the future, the integration of cameras and force sensors must be part of the scope of a standard robot for the smart factory."

Key topic: sustainability

What contribution can automation make to producing at least as much and just as well with less energy and resources - and not just in the automotive industry? Automatica is also dedicated to this question.

The flexibility of the robots is a real plus in terms of sustainability. A classic, highly automated production line with stationary conveyor technology in body-in-white production lasts just as long as the vehicle model it produces. The situation is different in the smart factory: Here, robots and AGVs take over all process steps in a highly flexible manner, including transportation from one station to the next. This means that the model can be changed simply by reprogramming. And the successor model is then manufactured using the same flexible and highly productive system as its predecessor. This is not only a considerable cost advantage, but also saves resources.