New field lab Smart Food Processing opened

On Tuesday 1 October 2019, the field lab Smart Food Processing was opened at Food Tech Park in Helmond. Elly Blanksma-van den Heuvel, mayor of Helmond, performed the opening ceremony together with an impressive robot. In the field lab, SME entrepreneurs are introduced to collaborative robots for the food processing industry.

Robotics, high-tech and sensoring in the field lab Smart Food Processing

"Foodtech is booming! The field lab Smart Food Processing is a unique initiative. It makes me proud that here in Helmond at the Food Tech Park, in the Brainport region, we are committed to smart innovations to achieve healthy(er), circular food. Through groundbreaking projects with robotics, high-tech and sensoring, this field lab will really make the difference," says Elly Blanksma-van den Heuvel. This bundling of technologies contributes to, among other things, an improved and more efficient production process with a smaller footprint. This directly touches on the sustainability battle that is being pursued by society in all sorts of areas.

With your own eyes: man and machine work together

After the opening ceremony, visitors were able to watch the different cobots while enjoying a snack and a drink, and in some cases even experience them in person. "It's great to see for yourself how these collaborative robots can increase efficiency and create new opportunities for our business," said one of the visitors. Because not everything can be shown physically, virtual reality is also used: a digital simulation.

John de Groot, initiator for COTEMACO, talks about the added value: "We provide inspiration for and information about cobot technology, but also help to create support in the organization and determine the economic and technical feasibility of implementation. This coaching role from the field lab helps SME entrepreneurs to answer the question: can I improve my production process with robots and/or cobots?

Image: © ANGY PhotoDesign