Jun 1 2016
Under the slogan “Hello Industrie 4.0 - we go digital”, KUKA is showcasing real application examples for the production of the future at the Trade Fair for Automation and Mechatronics in Munich.
“Industrie 4.0 will make production more efficient and more flexible. Hardware, software and IT merge,” says Stefan Lampa, CEO KUKA Robotics. “KUKA is playing a central role in the implementation. We are connecting humans and technology.”
KUKA makes customers fit for Industrie 4.0 – regardless of their level of digitization. This year, the booth of the Augsburg-based automation specialist is dedicated to three key areas of Industrie 4.0:
Networking in the cloud
The digitization megatrend is changing production and offering companies completely new possibilities. KUKA makes the complex topics of the Cloud and Big Data tangible. At Automatica, the company is showing the added value customers stand to gain when conventional high-tech solutions are combined with the latest services from the IT world. Cloud computing and networking in a modern factory thus help to simplify asset management and minimize downtimes and service costs – and KUKA demonstrates this to visitors on the basis of specific scenarios. Beyond this, KUKA networks its own products as a perfect example of a modern production concept, uses the simple example of coffee production to illustrate what the Internet of Things might look like and guides visitors through the automotive production of the future with the aid of 3D glasses.
Advanced Robotics – the future of human-robot collaboration
With the sensitive LBR iiwa lightweight robot, KUKA has let the robots out of their cages. The human operator and robot work hand in hand in a manner characterized by universal applicability and high mobility. The Augsburg-based company is now taking it a step further and showing new concepts in human-robot collaboration (HRC) at this year’s Automatica. Here, KUKA’s concept is opening industrial robots up for direct cooperation with human operators and thus combining the precision and speed of a KR AGILUS with the wide range of possibilities of HRC. Beyond this, trade fair visitors can now easily program the LBR iiwa graphically for themselves – even without programming skills. The sky is now the limit when it comes to implementing diverse robotic applications.
New robots for new markets and industries
Automation is growing in importance in every industry and market. As an innovation leader, KUKA is reacting to this development and presenting a small robot at Automatica which is specifically tailored to the needs of the electronics industry – one of the largest and fastest-growing markets for automation. The newest member of the KUKA small robot family, the KR 3 AGILUS, is not only fast and extremely precise, but also particularly compact. Furthermore, its maximum payload of three kilograms makes it an ideal solution for small cell concepts in confined spaces.