IFR International Federation of Robotics
ABB receives Robotics Award 2021
The 2021 'Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Robotics & Automation' (IERA) goes to ABB with 'PixelPaint'. This technology makes vehicle painting more efficient and sustainable.
"The jury is delighted to recognize ABB 's PixelPaint technology with the 17th IERA Award," says jury chairman Rob Ambrose. "The innovative solution for automated car painting combines more flexibility and individualization with better environmental compatibility." When using a conventional spray head, 20 to 30% of the paint was previously lost due to overspray. The 'PixelPaint' inkjet head, on the other hand, applies 100% of the paint to the vehicle surface, thus improving the environmental balance. ABB also significantly increases the efficiency of car painting with this technology. The reason: a two-tone paint job with an individual design used to be extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive. The vehicle had to be painstakingly masked before each paint application and run through the paint line at least twice. The new system only requires one pass and speeds up the customized painting process by a good 50%. In addition, there is no need to purchase and dispose of the masking material.
"Congratulations to ABB for the 2021 IERA Award - PixelPaint won in a strong field of finalists," says Milton Guerry, President of the International Federation of Robotics. "All four finalists represent the success story of an innovative product in robotics and automation."
The finalists in detail: Barcelona-based Infaimon presented the 'InPicker' - a universal pick-and-place system for industrial applications. Berlin-based Micropsi Industries took part with its 'Mirai' software - an AI-based control system that enables industrial robots to deal with variances in production. Mobile Industrial Robots from Odense in Denmark presented the 'MiR250', a user-friendly mobile robot that optimizes material flows in all industries.
The IERA Award is a world-renowned award in robotics that recognizes collaboration between science and industry in the production of robots. The award is presented annually jointly by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) and the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE/RAS), the world's largest technical professional organization.
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