This article originally appeared in The Land on 30 June 2024, authored by Shan Goodwin.
Shadow robots operating alongside people in beef processing is moving closer to reality with plans for three systems to be trialled in Australian plants next year.
In what is believed to be a world-first, the robots will be controlled by operators well away from the production floor and will be used in the application of picking carcase products from the individual wrapping line.
This is the next step for the Australian Meat Processor Corporation’s ongoing research and development of the cutting-edge technology.
AMPC’s research partner Mimeo Industrial and JBS Australia trialled a system at JBS Brooklyn last October, which delivered positive results.
The technology draws on the skill and experience of an operator with ‘hands on’ experience by makes the task more comfortable and less physically demanding.
AMPC’s Stuart Shaw said the two key drivers for the development of shadow robotic technology in meat processing were safety and the availability of labour.
“From a labour efficiency perspective, one person can operate multiple robots at the same time,” he said.
“But another key aspect is that this technology opens up the labour pool to a lot more people – people with gaming skills, people coming back to work after injury and people with disabilities.
“That means a whole new source of labour not previously available to the processing floor is opened up.”
In the JBS Brooklyn trials, the technology was investigated across two applications – picking from the individual wrapping line in the boning room and well as hock cutting.
“The goal of this stage of the project was to see how the shadow robot performed in an actual plant rather than in the workshop,” Mr Shaw said.
“We saw great results on the packing line. With limited training, the robot was easily able to pick from the conveyor belt and pack into cartons. Across several new operators it was achieving around 70 per cent picking success and a trained operator was even more effective.
“The operator was able to sin the JBS Innovation Centre while the robot did the work, showing how we can potentially work differently.”
Unfortunately, the hock cutting demonstration didn’t progress due to unexpected overhead space constraints, but Mr Shaw says it remains an option for later exploration.
He said the research started with four different concepts that have been narrowed down, continuously tested and refined.
Technical challenges along the way included making the system more robust for a long-term production environment and refining user interfaces, he said.