Addverb Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

1. How innovative is a robotic gripper solution for bottle de-packing? Can u brief it?

Bottle grippers are compatible with all major lines of packaging systems. These grippers are designed for high-speed, controlled pick-and-place assembly. It has a 3D print technique (Additive Technology). The Gripping mechanism is controlled by a pneumatic cylinder. It helps in opening & closing the claws. When claws are open, it means the gripper will release the bottle and when claws are close, it means the gripper will pick the bottle. The benefit of having a claw mechanism is that the gripper can pick multiple bottles without the need for accurately positioning the bottle for picking. The claws adjust any deviation in the position of bottles while picking.

2. What is the scope for the robotic gripper solution in the bottle de-packing industry? What future strategic plans do you have to overcast your competitors?

The scope of robotic grippers in the packaging industry allows for many production processes and applications to run more smoothly, and with greater flexibility and stability. Also, many heavier and/or potentially hazardous duties can be performed by robots with grippers, instead of humans. Grippers are now capable of carrying significantly heavier payloads than in the past and they can be customized more easily, and quickly at an economical cost, especially due to 3D printing technology.

As we know, the initial concept of gripper was introduced in 1969 at Stanford University, it has taken giant strides in terms of evolution and become a critical component of industrial robots used today. At present, the automation trend has engulfed a wide range of industrial domains worldwide, as manufacturers are keen on enhancing efficiency, production, and reducing overall costs simultaneously. Thus, Addverb with its smart innovative technological solutions including Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) is step by step entering the brawl and playing an imperative role in transforming the modern-day industrial ecosystem.

Henceforth, owing to rapid progress in AI and gripping technologies, the demand for adaptive robotic grippers has flooded at an excellent pace in recent years. Customer's demand for productivity and flexibility for their production lines has largely increased. Therefore, robots and robotic gripper solutions for pick and place are more and more present in some industries such as the food industry. In high-performance applications, typical characteristics of a pick & place robot can reach the following values: velocity 10 m/s, acceleration 100 m/s2 precision +/- 0.1mm, pick & place cycle 0.40s on average. To improve the performance of these applications it is necessary to improve the design of current production systems (number of robots, performances, etc.)

3. What expertise and solutions do you have to help support and build your business bottom line, apart from providing consistent and reliable service to your clients?

Addverb with a strong multi-disciplinary team can provide end to end solution with in-house build hardware and software. Addverb always endeavors to ensure that industries in India and across the globe can embrace the transition smoothly and to ensure that India does not miss out on the Industry 4.0 wave. We believe in automation as the key to high levels of productivity, safety, and cost-efficiency. We are a group of passionate individuals who have come together to create a great place to work to foster innovation and provide leading solutions in future warehouse and supply chain.

Addverb is coming up with its new state of the art manufacturing facility where Robots will make Robots. Our product offering covers the entire spectrum of Manufacturing & Warehouse Automation (from conveyors, robots, to IIOT solutions). With extensive experience across diverse sectors and deep expertise in business processes, we deliver the best-in-class automation solutions. We deliver the modern warehouses of the future, Today!

Solution and services always come up with the best customer support facility in class. After implementing the solution, we ensure troubleshooting and the proper functioning of the solution with a digital twin spares management and dedicated resource for every client.

4. How are the new grippers bringing changes to the bottle de-packaging process?

These grippers are designed for high-speed, controlled pick-and-place assembly. It has a 3D print technique (Additive Technology). The Gripping mechanism is controlled by a pneumatic cylinder. The new 3D printed claw gripper has enabled us to easily pick small bottles, eliminating the need for perfectly positioning the bottles. The claws adjust any deviation in the position of bottles while picking. Being 3D printed it is extremely light yet strong and provides an easy replacement. Because of the gripper being light, a robot with a smaller payload can be used to do the job. Resulting in higher speeds and better space utilization.

5. What difficulties did you face in this robotic depacking project and how did you overcome those obstacles?

The primary problem we faced in this project that the bottles had to be picked from a crate in which there was a lot of play between the bottle and each pocket of the crate. Hence, every-time we would get a different position for picking, to overcome this we designed the 3D printed Claw gripper. The gripper would align the bottles to the desired position once the claw is closed. To improve space utilization and to increase speed we decided to go ahead with a SCARA robot, but the SCARA robot didn’t have the desired movement range in Z-axis. So, we came up with a solution to add a lift along with a double-decker conveyor system, which would help us get the desired Z-axis range. The lift would go down with the crate as soon as the robot got a grip of the bottles.

6. Would you like to share your insights on Addverb Technologies global business unit?

Yes, according to a global robot grippers market, the solution can be segmented based on type, connectivity type, application, and region. Based on type, the robot grippers market can be categorized into vacuum grippers, hydraulic grippers, electric grippers, pneumatic grippers, magnetic grippers, and servo-electric grippers. The manufacturing segment can be further classified into discrete manufacturing and process manufacturing. The segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of22.3%till 2026. Robot grippers are gaining popularity in the manufacturing industry as they handle materials with the utmost care, reducing the chances of damage.

Based on the region, the global robot grippers market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to dominate the global market during the forecast period. The robot end-effector market is expected to grow from USD 2.6 billion in 2019 to USD 5.7 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 16.9% during the forecast period. To achieve this trend, Addverb is working on rising market expectations, competition and entry into new business lines, it is imperative for the businesses to adopt automation as quickly as possible, which adds agility to the entire operations.

7. Where do robotic grippers place themselves in bottle de-packing process and how do they bring innovation to the industry across the globe?

Conventional bottle de-packing has dominated the market for decades where processes involved in the packaging of products tend to keep a higher factor of safety, which in most cases is not required. Ordinary strategies additionally pass up a major opportunity to factor the impact of logistics on packed products. In addition to food and beverage industries that involve a complex packing system for aseptic food. Now, the Robotics de-packing system where robots with a powerful gripper to hold the bottle (gripping capability) offers much greater flexibility in a compact footprint while maintaining the accuracy and high payloads. These grippers have a 3D print technique to control the speed and pick and place assembly. 3D printing is the next big thing in the manufacturing industry and has a lot of potentials and this shift from conventional packing system to the robotic packing system is inevitable. In adding to a more prescribed way, Addverb decides to embrace this change to provide a better solution to all industries. Our solution is leading to be lighter, stronger, modular and more versatile than the conventional bottle grippers that industries already having.

8. In what ways the application of robotic grippers will be useful in our everyday lives in the coming future. Could you please cite some examples?

Who wouldn't value being freed from local tasks, for example, cleaning, pressing, cooking or cutting the garden now and again? Everybody will appreciate this. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), robots and new technology are programmed to understand and interact - keep it future friendly. These robots with gripper will take safety and collaboration to next level, they will be responsible for material handling, pick and place applications where a robot must be reliable for pick up and put down the object. Also, the robot grippers of the future will be smart devices more capable of safe collaboration with human workers. Advanced sensor systems will give these grippers a sense of touch and an advanced safety system to avoid dangerous situations.

Robot grippers are an essential aspect of robotic functionality in many applications. Robotic grasping capabilities can only advance as fast as the gripper technology that enables this process. The near future will see major innovations in robot grasping.

Applications of Robotic Grippers

• Grippers for assembly: In the future, the assembled parts become smaller and the precision demands increase in many cases. Grippers are one factor of the solution to make a competitive automation assembly system. Most assembly tasks are done at a solitary point in the production line. This implies the gripper that is situated there must be adaptable or flexible and be able to handle different parts.
• Grippers for Industry: The industrial grippers can be studied through different aspects such as the geometrical conditions of grasping, position and orientation of grasping, static equilibrium of grasped object, and dynamic conditions and can be applied across many industries in various applications.
• Grippers for Fragile Objects: Gripper applications for handling fragile objects need to be gentle so as not to break them. It is suitable for a wide range of fragile products, complex pack patterns, and high-speed picking. It handles bags from 10g up to 3kg, at rates of 40 to 400 products per minute.
• Grippers for Medical Applications: Recent advancements in medical grippers made them more reliable to be used in applications such as robotic surgery, minimally invasive surgery, and medical grippers.
• Micro and Nano Grippers: Different designs and technologies have been developed for micro and nano gripping by employing advancements in micro and nanoelectromechanical devices.
• Grippers for mobile robots: The gripper designed for autonomous climbing maneuvers by using the camera system. Pneumatic grippers with 3D scanning give the feedback by an inertial measurement unit, joint absolute encoders, and pressure sensors.

9. Where is Addverb Technologies heading as of now? Outline your future objectives, aspirations, and plans?

Addverb Technologies as a young and a very and progressive company set up in the region of Delhi, India to channelize the experience and expertise of the team in the field of Material Flow Engineering into a company that would add value to every action it takes in this Domain. Addverb provides a flexible solution for factories and warehouses and makes them future-ready with innovative industrial & warehouse automation solutions.

Addverb firmly believes in Industry 4.0 and the technologies associated with this revolution. Addverb has expertise in Industrial IOT, Robotics automation – packaging, pick and place, palletization, Vision system, Artificial intelligence, Augmented reality and Material handling automation. We leverage these technologies to make operations in factories & warehouses flexible, more cost-effective and efficient. We are one of the most innovative providers of technological solutions for robotics automation within India.

Right now, Addverb has deployed its solutions to more than 50 global multitude players of several industries including E-commerce, Food & Beverage, FMCG, Chemicals, Retail, Pharmaceuticals, etc. Some of our prominent clients to whom we have provided automation solutions include Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries, Asian Paint, Amazon, Flipkart, CocaCola, Patanjali, PepsiCo & Future Supply Chain, J&J, CEAT, ITC and many more. Some of the stats that show the quantum of disruption we have brought are:

• We are the largest player for Pick-To-Lights in India. We have supplied and deployed more than 50,000 PTLs in last one year and have also commissioned the single biggest Pick-To-Light site in India
• We are the largest supplier of Pallet Shuttle in India. We have developed and deployed more than 80 Pallet Shuttles in last one year
• We have developed the first Carton Shuttle Robot from India and have the largest installations for Carton Shuttle in India
• We have developed our AI-based Pick-By-Voice modules which are also available in Regional Indian languages
• Our Warehouse Control System software enabled with AI & ML is one of the most powerful software systems in the world

Our future objectives are to be a Global Robotics Company by venturing into the complete sphere of Industry 4.0, or the fourth technological Revolution, which refers to the gradual combination of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices with digital technologies. Further rising on the curve, we see ourselves to enter the Robotics as a Service model, which will enable deployment of robotics automation at a much larger level.