Berlin is knorke: Robotics and cobots in and from Berlin
Berlin, 29 January 2024 – More than 60 robotics companies are based in Berlin. Like a large number of research institutions and industrial companies, they promote the further development of cross-sectional technology robotics with the Berlin label. Companies like Continuum Innovation have also specialised in the area of cobots. Collaborative robots are being developed for active cooperation with humans and are already being used in many areas of application.
Unlike industrial robots, cobots stop when touched – so there is less risk of injury to people. The collaboratively designed robot arms are used, among other things, in the automotive industry, in bakeries, crafts and pick & place systems. In Berlin, the main focus is on optimising and further developing the Artificial Intelligence required for control: For which applications do cobots have to be programmed and how? In the capital region, the focus is therefore on innovative software solutions that enable interaction between man and machine, but above all make it (more) suitable for everyday use and (more) efficient.
In order to bring the Berlin stakeholders together, Berlin Partner established a robotics network in 2022. The community consists of companies, industry and research institutions that benefit from each other through cooperation and networking and jointly drive this pioneering technology forward.
The Berlin startup Continuum Innovation also belongs to the robotics network. The company has designed a completely new approach to collaborative robotics: They are currently developing a robot that is designed strictly for collaboration. This development includes integrated sensors, cameras and controls to avoid collisions between humans and machines. In addition, the shape of the robot arm, which resembles an elephant trunk, enables very flexible machine setup. This innovative approach increases safety and reduces the time it takes to train the cobot. Continuum Innovation has thus created a tool that opens up automation, and therefore increases cost efficiency, for medium-sized companies for which an automation process was previously not possible without having to sacrifice flexibility in production.
The prototype already exists; it has several joints that can be used in more diverse ways than the six axes of conventional robot arms. A second prototype is currently being built and will be tested with pilot partners this year.
Anyone with an overview of the robotics landscape in Berlin will realise: The innovation dynamic is huge.
For example, companies such as Micropsi Industries, which has developed an AI that is particularly good at dealing with variances, Klero, which has built a learning robot and a system for the ABB training centre and thus contributes to the qualification of skilled workers in the field of metal and electrical engineering, and Gestalt Robotics, which offers an automatic quality control solution with AI. In the Robotics Lab of the Technische Universität Berlin the innovative strength becomes particularly clear, because collaborative robots face very different challenges. Particularly exciting: The so-called soft gripper can be used to grab fruit and vegetables.
If you would like to find out more about robotics in and from Berlin, you can do so here.