Panasonic’s Robotics Solutions: The Importance of Functional over Fun – Process & Control Today

08/12/2020 Panasonic System Solutions Europe

Panasonic announces its R&D strategy for its next generation of robots. Based on its broad expertise in sensor as well as drives technology, and derived from its leading technologies in industrial robots, Panasonic will tackle the needs of aging societies from healthcare add-ons to labour shortages in retail and logistics.

The companys approach is on pragmatic solutions that work with people, and this can be defined within three core pillars: augmented solutions, stand-alone solutions, and complete robotics automation solutions. The company introduced six robot models aligned with its new Robotics strategy during a virtual press conference.

Utilizing the Advantage in Industrial Robots & Sensory

Panasonic is a tier-one producer of industry robots due to its development of cutting-edge sensors and drives. The company predicts that the general market trends in the components sector such as the focus on miniaturization, the combination of multiple intelligent sensors in one device, and the reduction of mass, enable new applications to be explored.

Johannes Spatz, President of Panasonic Industry in Europe comments, We believe the knowledge and technology in these areas along with our know-how in industrial robots prepare a reliable and tested pathway for successful applications of robotics in other areas.

One of the examples highlighting the transference of industrial applications to the healthcare industry is the usage of lidar sensors within delivery robots that had originally been developed for automated guided vehicles in production sites. This semi-automated robotics application is enabling the outsourcing of standard tasks to meet the needs of staff shortage within busy hospitals.

Increasing Value Depth & Adaption Speed for Robotics

Panasonic has pointed out that two key trends are on the rise: customers expect turnkey solutions from one supplier, and the adaption time decreases significantly. During the press conference, the company highlighted the engineering solution for the Continental factory in Regensburg as an example for the demand for holistic solutions. Delivered this year, the solution included process analysis, re-designing the layout of the loading area, physical process optimization, and the technical hardware. Alongside this was the installation of a Visual Sort Assist solution with direct integration into the SAP warehouse management system. As an example for the reduction in adaptation time, Panasonic presented a project of equipping a 3,000sm retail store in the UK within one working day with Electronic Shelf Labels including the connection to the warehouse system.

Academic Partnerships & Open Source Solutions

Central to the new strategy is a strategic change. Panasonic now has cooperation and joint offices with eight universities two in Europe and six in Japan. Among the partnerships in Europe are those with the Technical University in Munich, Germany, and the ETH in Zurich, Switzerland. Takeshi Ando, head of the Global Robotics R&D activities at Panasonic summarizes: Panasonic has evolved from pushing proprietary systems to an open technology platform. The new platform combines elemental technologies such as sensing, system integration, planning and computing, locomotion, object handling, communication and power source and battery.

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Panasonic's Robotics Solutions: The Importance of Functional over Fun - Process & Control Today