Products of the year 2023
Robotics - The winners
Robotics is regarded as one of the key technologies for coping with demographic change. Cobots in particular are predestined for human-robot collaboration. But cobots are nothing without the right gripper, as the winners in the 'Robotics' category show.
3rd place - Universal Robots
Universal Robots is expanding its product portfolio with the Cobot UR20. Thanks to a new joint design, the cobot achieves shorter cycle times and handles loads weighing up to 20 kg. A reach of 1,750 mm enables the Cobot to stack parts up to the full height of a standard Euro pallet of 2 m. This expands the possibilities for companies that want to automate tasks such as packaging and palletizing. More...
Cobots are indispensable in the automation system of the future, says Andrea Alboni, General Manager Western Europe at UR. In this interview, he explains what role cobots can play in overcoming the shortage of skilled workers and how the mechanical helpers can also be used to introduce schoolchildren and students to technology.
2nd place in the robotics category
2nd place - Festo
Festo is launching what it claims is the world's first pneumatic cobot. According to the company, it is more cost-effective than electric cobots in this class. It is primarily used for handling small parts with payloads of up to 3 kg and consists of the hardware, a hand module and the 'Robotic Suite', software for intuitive commissioning and programming. This means that the Cobot can be commissioned and programmed in less than an hour. More...
A cobot powered by air convinced the readers. Experts Christopher Waigand, Business Development Robotics, and Michael Hartmannsgruber, Head of Strategy, Market and Technology Robotics at Festo, explain how Festo came up with the idea of developing a cobot with the help of one of its core competencies, pneumatics.
1st place in the robotics category
1st place - Schunk
Schunk has developed the 2D Grasping Kit for handling individual objects randomly arranged on a plane. Following the 'MTB' application kits for the simple partial automation of machine loading and unloading, this is a further module with which Schunk provides customers with a ready-made automation solution. The 2D Grasping Kit consists of a camera system including lens, an application-specific gripping system, an industrial PC 'SVC' and a plug-in for simple integration into the robot controller. More...
Without the right gripper, a robot is just a robot. With intelligent grippers, robots become indispensable helpers, for example for loading and unloading a machine. To achieve this, grippers are combined with vision systems and software, among other things. Benedikt Janßen, Director Product Sales Mechatronics at Schunk, explains how this interaction works.
















