Covid-19
Robotics industry helps to survive the coronavirus crisis
Robotics and automation specialists are helping to overcome the coronavirus pandemic with new ideas: Robots are retraining for corona test procedures or virtually bringing family members into the care home, and automation specialists are launching respirator mask production.
Robotics, assembly and manufacturing experts are currently converting industrial production lines in a fast-track process. The aim is to help successfully overcome the coronavirus pandemic. New ideas are being implemented in record time: for example, the bottlenecks for face masks are being reduced in-house, test procedures are being made safer or accelerated to robot speed. Wherever possible, the robotics and automation specialists are working to support people with smart machine power.
"Initiatives and new ideas for using automation technology to overcome the coronavirus crisis are coming from all sides. Companies are moving at a breathtaking pace: a strong breeze of entrepreneurial spirit is blowing around our ears right now," says Patrick Schwarzkopf, Managing Director of the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association.
Car assembly builds respiratory protection
These include, for example, the mechanical engineering company Pia Automation from Amberg near Nuremberg. The company normally manufactures fully automated production systems for the automotive industry, but also counts medical technology companies among its customers. Within a few weeks of the outbreak of the crisis, Pia initially put two production lines that had been shut down back into operation at its site in China and converted to the fully automated production of up to 150,000 protective masks per day. With the expertise gained from this pilot project, the Franconian company is now working on numerous follow-up orders and is even manufacturing new assembly lines in Germany for the production of face masks. The first delivery is scheduled for the beginning of May. This will make it possible to produce more than one million face masks per day.
The project is not an isolated case: machine manufacturer Ruhlamat from Marksuhl in Thuringia has developed a production line for disposable surgical masks at enormous speed. The filter material for respiratory protection can be processed flexibly depending on the required safety levels.
Drive-through for corona mass testing
Unlike medical staff, robots are immune to pandemics. A new idea from industrial service provider BoKa Automatisierung from Lower Franconia is taking advantage of this. The fully automated system is reminiscent of the customer experience in a drive-through fast-food restaurant and can be used by any driver for a coronavirus test. Using a tablet, the driver identifies themselves through the side window of their vehicle and a robotic arm hands over the test tube. Video instructions guide the sample collection. The test tube is then automatically taken back. Each test participant is then informed by telephone about the result of a possible coronavirus infection.
Robot sorts 3,000 blood samples a day
The surge in COVID-19 testing requires numerous blood tests to be carried out. This process is traditionally carried out manually by laboratory technicians in clinics, is very time-consuming and monotonous - making it an ideal process to be automated. Aalborg University Hospital in Denmark already has a laboratory that benefited from automation even before the coronavirus crisis. Every day, up to 3,000 blood samples are carefully sorted by two Kuka robots at the largest hospital in the North Jutland region. The employees are relieved of an enormous amount of work and can concentrate on demanding activities away from the routine.
Robot James helps with visiting bans in retirement homes
RobShare, a Hahn Group Rheinböllen company, helps nursing home residents to keep in touch with family members during visiting bans. James is the name of the friendly communication robot. The robot visits people in the quarantined rooms and simply connects family members via video conference. RobShare offers the robots for rent free of charge. "We don't earn a cent from this campaign, we just have to make sure that we cover most of our own costs," says Konstantin Dick from Hahn. "That's why we've already started looking for sponsors so that the campaign can be offered completely free of charge to the care homes." as
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