Institution news
Q: Could you briefly explain your role and involvement in robotics and automation?
Simon Jarvis (SJ): I am responsible for the Engineering Department and Operations at Active8 Robots, the UK’s leading collaborative robot integrator and tooling specialist. My team help our customers to move from a need to automate, to identifying a suitable application and we then deliver a functional solution. We are fully independent and work with all major robot manufacturers.
Q: In your experience, what is the number one challenge facing engineers when using robotics in manufacturing?
SJ: It is normally the challenge of aligning expectation with reality. Many customers expect robots to be magical solutions to all of their problems. The challenge is helping them to realise the benefits of automation by putting robots to work where they are most effective and using people where robots are not so strong.
Q: What is the most exciting development in this field at the moment, either within your company or in your specific industry sector?
SJ: Advances in 3D printing have given us the ability to rapidly prototype our solutions, particularly for end of arm tooling. Where previously we would have used fabricated parts taking weeks to arrive, we can now have things assembled and be testing in hours. This means we can start refining the design sooner and reduces the whole development process.
Q: Where do you see the future of robotics in manufacturing heading over the next five to ten years?
SJ: As the price of robots continues to drop and the cost of labour increases, it becomes unimaginable for manufacturers to not use automated solutions. We are already seeing major projects with ROI periods less than a year. Advances in vision and artificial intelligence will allow robots to take on more decision making and widen the scope of common applications.
Cutting-edge collaborative robots (cobots) are currently being deployed in processes working in conjunction with people, so I am expecting to see a massive increase in the demand for cobots. Large organisations are already investing in dedicated personnel specialised in cobots, I anticipate roles like Cobot Specialist, Cobot Deployment Manager, Director of Cobots etc. becoming more and more commonplace.
Q: What are you most looking forward to by presenting at this seminar?
SJ: Showing attendees what is already possible for collaborative robots and the kind of savings which can easily be achieved.
Q: Which sessions are you most looking forward to hearing?
SJ: Jake Norman’s thoughts on using robots in food manufacturing. We are currently working on a number of projects in this area and it will be very interesting to see alternative solutions to the various challenges.
Q: Why should plant and site engineering managers, robotics specialists, designers and manufacturers join this seminar?
SJ: To ensure they are not left behind as automation technology becomes a must-have across the industry. With the uncertainty of labour influx for the coming years in the UK, investing in cobots is becoming an obligation and is no longer optional.
Key programme highlights:
- The Health and Safety Executive share developments in standards for human and robot collaboration
- Ocado Engineering discuss their journey to fully-automated warehouses
- British Automation and Robot Association explore the benefits and challenges of using cobots
- Airbus highlight the urgency for automation in aerospace and their current organisational practices
- AMRC discuss their work on pushing productivity boundaries through reconfigurable manufacturing.
Join this seminar to hear cross-industry insights on the use of robotics and automation to optimise your organisation's manufacturing processes for improved efficiency and ROI. Discuss the UK’s robotics journey with plant and site engineering managers, robotics specialists, designers and manufacturers. To book your place, please visit the event website.