Banking on automation: Schubert unveils its first AI-programmed pick-and-place cobot

25 Jun 2021 --- Schubert is enhancing the speed of lightweight product packing with the launch of its first AI-programmed pick-and-place cobot called tog.519. 

A cobot (collaborative robot) is a robot intended for direct human interaction within a shared space. 

Programmed for “gripping from disorder,” the new cobot is designed for packing lightweight products in the F&B, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, and operates up to eight times faster than standard cobots. 

The Schubert cobot automates simple manual processes outside of highly efficient machine sequences and can be adapted to new tasks quickly without requiring programming knowledge. 

Tog.519 was presented yesterday at Schubert’s online press conference. Following the event, PackagingInsights spoke exclusively with Schubert’s managing director Marcel Kiessling about how the COVID-19 pandemic has fostered the development of robotics in packaging.

“Independent of COVID-19, automation is a trend that probably cannot be turned around. It’s more efficient to do certain things in an automated way with robotic support. This is something we include in our company vision going forward,” he highlights.

Tog.519 is currently being tested by several undisclosed customers. Furthermore, Schubert plans on developing an “entire family of cobots” within the coming years.The Schubert cobot is “extremely flexible” and “exceptionally easy to program” due to AI image processing.

AI technology grows eyes
Schubert developed its own neural network using AI to match tog.519 with specific industry safety, speed and programming requirements.

To program specific products, the network is trained using product photos from the Schubert Cloud and then loaded to the cobot as a format. The AI can reliably recognize new products after processing “a handful” of product images within three days. 

The objective is to make the learning process so simple that Schubert’s customers can create new formats and products themselves without any prior knowledge of image processing or programming.

Kiessling regards the cobot’s “eyes” as one of its main advantages. “With the AI, we can teach it to detect the right product, pick and put it where we want.” Via the HD camera system integrated into the cobot, the AI then decides how the cobot should proceed.

Ensuring workforce safety
The tog.519 is “the fastest of its kind,” Kiessling explains, reaching these fast cycle rates via a newly developed vision system. 

The cobot uses a protective cell when space is limited to ensure high speeds. However, it can also operate without a protective cell while maintaining a high level of safety. 

Schubert uses image processing to teach the cobot to “see” its environment with built-in cameras. 

Should an employee approach the cobot within a radius of six meters, it gradually reduces its speed until it comes to a complete standstill. “There is no safety concept today in any product doing that,” Kiessling affirms. 

Notably, tog.519 was several years in the making, with the development of the in-built vision system posing one of the central R&D challenges.

Tog.519 has one of the world’s fastest capabilities for “gripping from disorder.”Robots and humans co-exist
The rise of robots raises ethical questions about replacing humans in the workforce, potentially leading to fewer employment opportunities for workers.

“Are the people being completely replaced? I don’t think so,” says Kiessling. “Jobs are changing.” 

He flags certain manual tasks, such as on- and offloading heavy objects or packing products in cartons, can become very monotonous and even unhealthy, and “not something a human being should do for 14 hours a day.”

“Robots can do that much better than a person and the robot does not get tired. But we may need the same person for quality checks to ensure the interface between the two lines runs smoothly,” Kiessling highlights.

The Schubert team behind the development of tog.519, with Baden-Württemberg’s minister president Winfried Kretschmann (third from right, standing).Notably, Kiessling explains “tog.519” refers to the first three letters in the word “together.” 

Pivoting when faced with obstacles
Tog.519 was originally intended to exhibit at interpack 2021, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Schubert had also planned on showcasing the technology alongside its novel TLM machine concepts and 3D printing innovations at the event.

Since the pandemic outbreak, PackagingInsights has spoken with several Schubert experts about how roboticized automation and online maintenance optimizations have helped overcome COVID-19 disruptions.

By Anni Schleicher