Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the packaging industry. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked startups building cobot solutions.
Global Startup Heat Map highlights 5 Top Startups building Cobot Solutions for Packaging Companies out of 88
The insights of this data-driven analysis are derived from the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 2.093.000+ startups & scaleups globally. The platform gives you an exhaustive overview of emerging technologies & relevant startups within a specific field in just a few clicks.
The Global Startup Heat Map below reveals the distribution of the 88 exemplary startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research. Further, it highlights 5 robotics startups that we hand-picked based on criteria such as founding year, location, funding raised, and more. You get to explore the solutions of these 5 startups & scaleups in this report. For insights on the other 83 cobot solutions for packaging, get in touch.
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Southie Autonomy designs No-Code Robotic Arms
Boxing and packaging of products is a strenuous and repetitive task in the supply chain. Due to heavy workload or shortage of employees, packaging companies lose revenue due to errors in packaging. Thus, packaging companies introduce collaborative robots, or cobots, to perform instructed tasks. However, there is still a lack of flexibility in assigning functions to cobots using user-friendly tools. Startups are utilizing advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning technologies to develop cobots with interactive tools.
US-based startup Southie Autonomy offers its collaborative robot Codiac for applications in packaging, kitting, and palletizing. The startup develops a proprietary AI and augmented reality (AR)-based software, Wizard, to analyze the products. Then, Southie Autonomy’s user interface, The Wand, interacts and instructs the cobots on which functions to perform. The solution enables packaging assembly activities including end-capping, shelf-ready stacking, and other secondary packaging tasks. The Codiac solution increases productivity in a workstation and is also capable of instant re-deployment to other tasks.
Rethink Robotics specializes in Smart Collaborative Robots
With the constant push to shorten a product lifecycle in the supply chain, various tasks require optimization. The major bottleneck is in packaging tasks, which consume a lot of time and require high worker efficiency. However, the workers in the packaging and supply chain typically have poor working conditions. To improve efficiency, startups design and deploy robots that integrate into existing supply chains.
German startup Rethink Robotics provides cobots for contract-driven packaging and promotional packaging. The startup’s co-packer solution Sawyer is a flexible and collaborative robot. Sawyer features inbuilt sensors to make adaptive decisions to execute tasks. It is easy to deploy and quickly adapts to the different product packaging, in turn, increasing productivity. The startup also builds the Intera5, an operating system to control collaborative robots. Rethink Robotics’ solution is ideal for product sorting, packing, and arranging.
EasyRobotics enables Collaborative Robotic Palletization
The use of robotics in the supply chain has proven to significantly increase efficiency, shorten the time of packaging, and reduce worker injuries. To achieve a smooth integration of robots for performing tasks in the packaging supply chain, products need to be arranged and sorted. A palletization robot requires sorted and stacked products to easily pick up, place, and box them. Thus, the use of palletizers is a primary requirement to enhance efficiency in packaging.
Danish startup EasyRobotics develops a collaborative robotic arm for industrial packaging applications. The startup’s EasyPalletizer platform significantly reduces the effort involved in packaging and palletizing tasks. EasyPalletizer achieves shorter product life cycles, adapting to the latest packaging designs and different product variants. The startup’s platform also ensures continuous stacking of products according to a predetermined pattern and is suitable for the food and pharma industries.
OnRobot provides End-of-Arm-Tooling (EOAT) for Cobots
The key role of cobots in the supply chain is to significantly reduce repeated heavy lifting and physical strain of the employees. To tackle labor shortages and increase productivity, cobots are used for material handling purposes. Often the tasks require picking and place functions. Collaborative robots assist workers in transferring, sorting items, palletize and package products. These tasks require higher sensitivity, flexibility, and precision in handling. Startups are developing end-of-arm-tooling (EOAT) for robotic arms with unique gripping technologies to support the packaging process in a supply chain.
US-based startup OnRobot designs cobots for functions like transferring, packing, sorting, and palletizing. OnRobot’s RG6 grippers are highly flexible for use in the packaging industry, particularly for heavy and monotonous tasks. OnRobot’s EOAT solutions are easy to implement and work within a packaging line workstation. The startup offers various kinds of EOATs and robotic grippers including vacuum and finger grippers as well as soft and magnetic grippers for pick and place applications.
Xela Robotics offers Cobots with Tactile Sensing Technology
Robots serve as excellent collaborators to perform heavy lighting tasks, boxing, and packing. However, there is a need to make cobots smarter, for example, by providing a sense of perception. Through such technology, robots, just like humans, can touch and sense the object’s physical properties for simple grasping and manipulation. Thus, the sense of touch is a key to modulate prehensile capabilities in robotic arms. By incorporating tactile sensors in robotic fingers, cobots increase the precision and accuracy of performing their functions.
Japanese startup Xela Robotics provides tactile sensors for robotic arms and grippers. The startup offers uSkin, a high-density three-axis tactile sensor that integrates into existing robots. Xela Robotics also offers ALLEGRO HAND for specific integrations of the sensor. ALLEGRO HAND features sixty-four tri-axial tactile sensors that enable it to grasp delicate objects and apply the right amount of pressure. These solutions open new opportunities for assembly and packaging applications.
Discover more Packaging Startups
Packaging startups such as the examples highlighted in this report focus on robotic palletization and AI-enabled cobots as well as robotic gripping and tactile sensing solutions, such as novel end-of-arm tolling solutions. While all of these technologies play a major role in advancing the packaging industry, they only represent the tip of the iceberg. To explore more packaging technologies, simply get in touch to let us look into your areas of interest. For a more general overview, you can download our free Packaging Innovation Report to save your time and improve strategic decision-making.
