ITM Industry Europe. Intuitive machine-to-human-to-machine process control
Machines and robots in action, innovations in industry, smart trends in logistics
FANUC, APA Group and VersaBox will showcase an innovative cooperation process based on the concept of Industry 4.0 during the ITM Industry Europe fair in Poznań (31.08 – 3.09.2021).
Cooperation between FANUC and VERSABOX robots, based on the NAZCA 4.0 platform, was first presented earlier this year at the inauguration of the Industry 4.0 Technology Testing Centre in Gliwice. The presentation showed how a person can control the manufacturing process via a smartwatch and how precisely machines cooperate while exchanging data in real time. Production lines based on the concept of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) are becoming an everyday reality in manufacturing plants.
Market situation
A report by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) showed that there are 42 robots per 10,000 employees in Poland, compared to the European average at 114, which shows that there is an enormous potential for automation in Poland. It will be difficult to maintain the competitiveness of the Polish industry and attract foreign investments without it. The coronavirus pandemic, and the subsequent crisis, has shown that companies which implemented Industry 4.0 solutions suffered the lowest losses. A third of small enterprises plans to undergo robotisation in the next few years, but they do not always know where to start. Smart platforms help manage and optimise industrial processes.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution in one app
FANUC and VERSABOX robots (CRX cobot and VERSABOT mobile platform, respectively) are controlled by an operator via the NAZCA 4.0 platform (developed by APA Group engineers, also a Polish company), which operates by using elements of IoT, Big Data, and machine learning. It allows the user (manager, traffic maintenance staff, planner) to receive clear reports with indicators of quality, efficiency, cost, energy and CO2 consumption. All of this gives you a precise estimate of how much it actually costs to manufacture one component. The revolutionary innovation is the fact that it can be done using any mobile device, be it a smartphone, a smartwatch, a tablet, or a traditional PC. These types of solutions, ones using cobots, are completely safe for the people working with and around them. The design and safety systems allow the machines to operate outside of fenced-off areas, as demos at the FANUC booth will clearly demonstrate.
More information