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Microplastics are found nearly everywhere on Earth and can be harmful to animals if they’re ingested. But it’s hard to remove such tiny particles from the environment, especially once they settle into nooks and crannies at the bottom of waterways. Now, researchers in ACS’ Nano Letters have created a light-activated fish robot that “swims” around quickly, picking up and removing microplastics from the environment.

What is the future role of automation and robotics in industry? Which developments and technologies will shape the work of tomorrow and what will be the importance of AI? automatica, which took place in Munich from June 21 to 24, 2022, provided both answers to these questions and numerous trends and innovations.

Aerobotix and Automated Solutions Australia (ASA)  officially announced a robotic automation international partnership between the two companies for the development, testing and manufacturing of hypersonic missiles. The partnership follows the 2021 signing of the AUKUS security pact between the U.S., U.K. and Australian Governments, which includes provisions for the allies to work together on hypersonic and counter-hypersonic capabilities.

A lot of the solutions shown at Automatica are based on Cobots. One of the companies using Cobots in their offering is Robotiq. originally started as a provider of ‘end of arm’- tools, it has developed into a provideer of a broader portfolio. Rocking Robots spoke about their strategy with Leif Möller and Vincent Vandomme.

‘We are at the beginning of a big explosion of robotics’, says Melonee Wise of Zebra Technologies in this report from Automatica in Munich. This week she received the  ‘Nobel Prize’ of robotics, the 2022 Engelberger Award for her contributions to robotics technology. The award is bestowed by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3).

Automated understanding of individual documents is being used more and more. But the next step is coming: semantic understanding, which means generative AI is generating the robot flows to make processes more efficient. At TOGETHER Amsterdam Rocking Robots discussed semantic automation with Boris Krumrey, Global VP Automation Innovations at UiPath.

At Automatica this week ABB launched two products under the new OmniVance brand: OmniVance FlexArc Compact Cell and the OmniVance Machining Cell and Software. OmniVance consists of standardized, ready-to-deploy application cells that deliver modular production, simple programming and set-up. OmniVance FlexArc Compact Cell is used for welding, while OmniVance Machining Cell increases productivity in up to eight different applications.

Although America has lagged behind Asia in design and production of manufacturing robots, it is now positioned to catch up and lead in a new global robotics race, according to research by investment bank Strategic Exits Partners The study analyzed the last five years of transactions including 300 exits, and 5000 investments into 3000 global companies.

Sales of industrial robots have reached a strong recovery: A new record of 486,800 units were shipped globally – an increase of 27% compared to the previous year. Asia/Australia saw the largest growth in demand: installations were up 33% reaching 354,500 units. The Americas increased by 27% with 49,400 units sold. Europe saw double digit growth of 15% with 78,000 units installed. These preliminary results for 2021 have been published by the International Federation of Robotics.

Automation is technology, but in succesfully implementing it the human factor should be considered as well. This is one of the topics UiPath Immersion Labs is focussed on. At TOGETHER Amsterdam the Rocking Robots team disucussed the involvement of people and the opportunities digital upskilling provides them with Claudia Pedersen, Immersion Labs Operations Director at UiPath.