Universal Robots hosted the largest virtual collaborative robot (cobot) expo and seminar in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region on 9 and 10 November 2021, with some of the top minds in this sector sharing their views.

New Zealand-based global food processing technology company MHM Automation has set ambitious growth targets, looking to double revenue, and treble profitability, in the next three years.

Lactalis has invested in an additional Dematic AGV to join its fleet of four existing AGVs at its Lidcombe Milk Site in NSW, as the company seeks to boost warehouse-wide efficiency.

Australia and New Zealand have been earmarked by Universal Robots as a key region for investment, with two new senior staff being appointed in ANZ by the company.

As the ‘new kid on the block’ in the automation world, cobots have become a hot talking point for industry as it looks to increase flexibility and efficiency in manufacturing plants.

A study by researchers at Texas A&M University explores human-robot collaboration in the manufacturing sector, and examines the possibility of combating fatigue through autonomy.

With electric cylinders being in such high demand due to its flexibility and ease of use and precision, SMC is answering the call for electric solutions with its latest series of AC servo motor drivers.

Melbourne-based automation system builder ADDE has partnered with OTTO Motors to bring the OTTO range of autonomous mobile robots to the Australian market.

Adopting automation can reduce labour costs, improve worker safety, and increase productivity, and the benefits apply to small operations too, says EU Automation's John Young.

FMCG, pharma and logistics operations are set to benefit from the release of Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure Automation Expert version 21.1, its software-centric universal automation system.

As demand for local manufacturing and increased productivity continues to surge, some manufacturers are grappling with an ongoing issue: a shortage of skilled labour. Cobots can step into the breach.

To cater for the growing demand for its expertise, specialist in automation solutions, ASC, has brought in an expert engineer from offshore to help expand on its knowledge and services across Australia.

Kuka has joined Open IIoT, an initiative founded with the mission of delivering valuable, efficient and easy-to-understand information on Industry 4.0 and IIoT to the broader manufacturing industry.

ABB launches its faster and stronger IRB 390 FlexPacker, which supports customised/vertical packing, high-speed/high-variation sorting, and on-demand order picking in logistics and e-commerce centres.

Universal Robots’ best selling cobot, the UR10e, has been enhanced and is launching with a 25% increased payload, enabling it to serve even more applications and handle heavier items.

While cobots have been enabling manufacturers to run agile operations and increase performance for more than a decade, today’s cobots are built to do even more - Universal Robots breaks down what users can do to unlock more value from them.