Soft Robotics, manufacturer of automated picking solutions, has launched SoftAI to accelerate the adoption of robotics in food processing.
Incorporating proprietary 3D vision, AI software, and soft grasping technology, the solution aims to address the food industry’s inability to automate operations.
“Robots have been widely adopted across an array of industries resulting in safer working environments, consistently higher quality products and improved economics for operators,” said Jeff Beck, CEO at Soft Robotics. “However, robotics adoption in food production operations has been very limited due to technological and sanitation challenges.
“SoftAI was specifically developed by a team of highly accomplished robotics engineers to solve those challenges. It’s ready now to make a real positive difference in the quest to automate food production. We look forward to engaging with food producers and our systems integration partners in this new frontier for robotics,” he added.
SoftAI augments traditional industrial robots with true hand-eye coordination, this unlocks their use in most labour dependent processes, according to the company. It believed this technology will drive broad scale adoption of automation, which results in a more resilient food supply chain that produces safer products at higher volumes with reduced waste and lower operational costs.
“The food industry is critically dependent on labour to meet its production goals,” said Mark Chiappetta, COO at Soft Robotics. “But challenges with workforce availability and productivity, tightening food safety regulations, and global health crises have illuminated the need to break this dependency. SoftAI powered robotic automation is the solution.”
Read more:Â Soft Robotics raises US$10m to bring AI-powered food robotics to market
