Automatica 2016 wraps up but not before ABB introduces Connected Services, SafeMove2, and a new robot!

Automatica may have ended but customers are only just beginning their journey toward the Factory of the Future with ABB Robotics.

Technologies to unlock the Factory of the Future took center stage at this year’s Automatica, the world’s largest showcase for robotics and manufacturing automation. Focused on Collaboration and Digitalization, ABB introduced customers – new and old—to an entirely new range of products and solutions which will support a manufacturing landscape that is rapidly moving away from mass production toward mass customization.

Allow me to take you on a short tour of stand 320 in hall B5. Before I do, I invite you to experience the trade show floor as you would using Oculus Rift. It is a unique opportunity to see the booth if you were unable to join us in Munich, Germany.

Our tour beings with our newest collaborative solution, SafeMove2. An advanced safety-certified monitoring and control software solution, SafeMove2 allows people and robots to safely work closely together without compromising productivity. To demonstrate how it works, a cell including ABB’s largest robot ever, the IRB 8700, was equipped with safety equipment and sensors. Visitors were invited behind the light curtain to experience first-hand how once they are detected SafeMove2 monitors the robot’s speed and even brings it to a standstill. Once the person clears the zone, the robot resumes operation.

Moving along the floor, YuMi^®, the world’s first truly collaborative robot, simulated a real-world collaborative assembly application from ABB’s own low-voltage electronics factory in Finland.

The next stop on our tour is ABB’s new digital solution, Connected Services, ABB’s proactive approach to fleet management. Before the advent of the Internet of Things Services and People robots were often serviced only when in need of repair, or were maintained according to the calendar, or operating hours. In this cell, our newest small parts assembly robot, the IRB 910SC (SCARA) was used to demonstrate how Connected Services provides data on a robot’s actual condition and prioritize maintenance activities which will keep customers’ most critical processes efficient and available. Connected Services is available for use with all new and installed ABB Robots.

In addition to these exciting new products and services, which will help ABB customers on their journey to the Factory of the Future, ABB remained close to its roots, introducing its newest mid-size robot, the IRB 1660ID, and demonstrating how Oculus Rift is the next wave in robotic programming.

For an overview of Automatic 2016 and how ABB is helping its customers build the Factory of Future, click here: