Soft Robotics Demonstrates mGripAI for Food Handling at Automate 2023

Soft Robotics combines 3D vision and AI with compliant gripping technology to automate processing of proteins and other foodstuffs.

Soft Robotics

mGripAI picks, orients, and packs trays of raw chicken drumsticks directly from bulk.

Soft Robotics is showing in Detroit how its mGripAI has combined 3D vision, AI, and soft grippers to automate food handling and other applications.

By Robotics 24/7 Staff

· May 24, 2023

DETROIT—Soft Robotics Inc. is demonstrating its mGripAI robotic picking system for the food industry at the Automate 2023 trade show this week. The Bedford, Mass.-based company said mGripAI's “no-code interface enables any machine builder to leverage the power of AI in complex picking applications.”

“Ease-of-deployment is at the core of every mGripAI system,” stated Austin Harvey, vice president of product and marketing at Soft Robotics. “It is now easier than ever for machine builders to deploy AI-enabled solutions and leverage complex object understanding for high-speed picking applications.”

Soft Robotics said it designs and builds automated, high-speed picking systems using 3D machine vision, artificial intelligence software, and proprietary soft robotic grippers. The company added that its technologies enable systems integrators, OEM machine builders, and end users to automate complex production processes in the food industry.

See mGripAI at Automate 2023

At Automate, Soft Robotics is demonstrating two mGripAI-powered applications in Booth 818 at the Huntington Place Convention Center:

Tray packing chicken drumsticks directly from bulk: Picking, orienting, and packaging of raw poultry product from bulk at rates of up to 60 units per minute
Case packing sausages from bulk: 3D bin picking, sorting, and orienting packaged sausages at rates of up to 24 picks per minute

The company also cited the following key benefits of mGripAI:

Reduces dependency on unavailable labor
Saves floor space
Increases throughput
Reduces food waste

About Soft Robotics

By combining proprietary and industry-proven vision, AI, and soft grasping technologies into an easy-to-integrate, IP69K-rated system, mGripAI allows business to automate otherwise off-limits production processes, said Soft Robotics. The company claimed that it empowers industrial robots with the sensory, cognitive, and dexterous abilities of human workers.

Soft Robotics is backed by leading venture capital firms and strategic investors including ABB Technology Ventures, Calibrate Ventures, FANUC, Honeywell Ventures, Hyperplane Venture Capital, Johnsonville, Marel, Material Impact, Scale Venture Partners, Tekfen Ventures, Tyson Ventures and Yamaha Motor Co.

Editor's note: For more about Automate 2023, visit Robotics 24/7's special coverage page.

Food processors grappling with a shortage of skilled labor, more rigorous food safety standards, and greater competition are turning to robotic automation to address these challenges.

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