Automation & Robotics

Research from Monash University Business School highlights rising psychosocial risks in Australian workplaces due to the increased use of collaborative robots, including job insecurity and role ambiguity.

TAFE Queensland is set to introduce a new advanced manufacturing lab developed by Applied Robotics, with technology from Rockwell Automation, at its Ipswich campus. It is slated to open in Feb 2025.

The future of robotics is promising, with adoption set to rise as costs decrease and technology becomes more flexible and accessible. This trend is particularly evident in Australia, where local manufacturers are feeling the pressure to automate. We ask James Taylor, COO at OnRobot, to weigh in.

More than half of the country’s manufacturing businesses, some 56 per cent, have embraced new technologies in the past year, according to the latest CreditorWatch Business Sentiment Survey.

In what Kardex is calling a critical discussion on automation for small and medium-sized enterprises, a panel at CeMAT 2024 highlighted the importance of aligning business, technical, operational, and commercial aspects to drive sustainable growth.

OnRobot has partnered with Qld-based robotics and machine company DCISIV Technologies to introduce an off-the-shelf collaborative palletiser for SMEs in Australia.

Trade show CeMAT Australia, held from 23-25 July at the MCEC, provided a platform for the latest advancements in intralogistics, robotics, automation, warehousing, and supply chain management.

Packaging automation solution supplier Foodmach has appointed a new chief executive officer, Robert Niggl, who brings years of FMCG and automation experience to the role he will take up on 5 August.

Ranpak, global supplier of paper-based solutions for e-commerce and industrial packaging, will be demonstrating its automated end-of-line packaging solutions during its first ever attendance at CeMAT 2024.

Konica Minolta Australia has deployed four autonomous mobile robots from Mobile Industrial Robots to help Kinrise Snackfoods automate its operations across one of its manufacturing facilities.

Rockwell Automation has unveiled an exciting program for its flagship Australia and New Zealand training, upskilling and knowledge-sharing event, ROKLive 2024, taking place from 30 July to 1 August

In an ever-tightening labour market, manufacturers are looking to implement robotics at scale, according to the 2024 State of Smart Manufacturing (SoSM) report by Rockwell Automation.

Snack bar and wholefood ball manufacturer Tasti Products has chosen Plex by Rockwell Automation (exhibiting at APPEX) as its new integrated smart manufacturing and business process solution.

The food and beverage industry has been slower to embrace automation and robotics to address processing challenges compared with other industries, yet they are valuable tools to harness, as Glen Jacob of Rockwell Automation explains. The company will be exhibiting at APPEX on Stand A120.

Anders Billesø Beck, VP Strategy and Innovation at Universal Robots, reflects on the trends from the past 12 months and looks ahead at what 2024 has in store for the world of robotics and automation. 

In the world of automation, accelerated advancements in AI have long been underway, with companies like Beckhoff Automation Australia offering AI-supported engineering software in the form of TwinCAT Chat.