Top 5 Robot Applications in Food Processing

Twenty years ago, it was not easy to imagine a robot preparing breakfast for you or making a cup of delicious coffee to wake you up. Still, here we are, advanced technologies reach the boundary of the human and robotic world by helping humans, but not replacing them. 

Read further on how cobots are used in food processing and food manufacturing and challenges on the way to its automation. 

Challenges in food manufacturing and food processing

Although food and beverage automation has been rapidly progressing lately, robotic arms with the robotic accessory ecosystem have experienced multiple challenges. 

1. A lack of the standardized ecosystem solution

A variety of shapes and objects in food processing requires standards for a rich ecosystem. Deploying collaborative robots requires a developed system of multiple grippers and other accessories. 

2. Inconsistency of a cooking process 

A cooking process should have its particular order; otherwise, it will be troublesome to pursue and change the programming algorithm. 

3. The stock keeping unit is limited 

As the consumer demand increases, food and beverage manufacturers continuously offer multiple tastes and flavors. It results in SKU complexity and a requirement to stock this tastes’ diversity. 

There are different obstacles to providing automation solutions in food manufacturing. However, to overcome these manufacturing challenges, we should dive deeper into the robotic applications in the industry. 

Top 5 robotic applications in food processing

Primary processing and secondary processing differ. Primary processing refers to raw food products such as meat, vegetables, and fruits to be sorted, cleaned, and mixed, while secondary processing is focused on creating new food, such as cooking or baking. 

Applications in primary processing

• fruit pick & place

One of the fastest-growing robotic applications is fruit & vegetable pick and place. Cobots accurately accomplish the simple task of pick and place, including irregularly shaped objects, such as fruits and vegetables.