At igus®, we believe in the power of innovation and creativity. That’s why we’re excited to announce the ROIBOT 2024 award, a competition designed to recognize and reward clever Automation solutions.

The ROIBOT 2024 award is an opportunity for individuals and organizations to showcase their exciting automation applications using igus® Low Cost Automation components or partner products from the RBTX marketplace. We’re looking for entries that demonstrate courage, ingenuity, and creativity.

Why Participate?

Participating in the ROIBOT 2024 award comes with several benefits:

• Win robotics hardware worth up to €5,000: The top three entries will receive a voucher for RBTX worth €5,000 (1st place), €2,500 (2nd place), and €1,000 (3rd place). You can use this voucher to create your individual robot set on the online marketplace RBTX, choosing your desired robot, suitable grippers, and control systems from various dealers.
• Showcase your automation expertise: This is a chance to present your automation expertise in an effective and wide-reaching way.
• Join a global automation community: By participating, you become part of a global community of innovators in automation.

How to Enter

Entering the competition is simple and takes just 5 minutes. Fill in the form and upload a picture or video of your application by 30th June 2024. All participants will receive a little surprise as a thank you for their entry.

ROIBOT 2022 Winner:

The first place was secured by MFG Technik & Service GmbH with their innovative “LabelMonkey”, a pallet labeller. The core of this solution is the robolink® DP, a complete module with five degrees of freedom.

The Challenge

Industrially produced goods, particularly foodstuffs, are stacked on pallets for transport. Traditionally, the finished pallets receive labels with logistics information on two or three sides. Special printing units print the labels, and a mechanism then applies them to the sides of the pallets. This label application process has been accomplished by complex, expensive, and definitely error-prone mechanisms. Once designed and installed, few changes and adjustments to the system are possible.

The Solution

To automate this process, MFG Technik & Service GmbH developed the “LabelMonkey” using a modular system. The system includes two label printing units to achieve redundancy and a robolink® DP with a special label pressing plate as a tool. Thanks to the low-cost components used, the price of the LabelMonkey is significantly lower than conventional pallet labellers.

The Benefits

The LabelMonkey offers several advantages over traditional pallet labellers:

• Cost-effectiveness: The LabelMonkey is significantly more cost-effective than traditional pallet labellers.
• High availability: The two printing modules create a high level of redundancy and high system availability (close to the zero-error rate).
• Flexibility: The robolink® DP allows to program and implement customer requirements quickly and easily, which guarantees maximum flexibility to the user.

2nd Place: Automatic Harvest Assistant by FARMIONIC

The second place was won by FARMIONIC with their innovative “Automatic Harvest Assistant”. This solution is a container system for the fully automated indoor cultivation of vegetables and herbs. The robolink® DP handles all tasks independently, from seed planting to harvesting.

The Challenge

The availability of fresh, regional vegetables all year round is a challenge that is already pushing conventional agriculture to its limits. The increase in extreme weather conditions caused by climate change is continuing to affect the system, and requires ever greater expenditure of resources and personnel. In addition, there is the complex storage of crops and long transport routes, with the result that many of the organically grown products also end up with a poor CO2 footprint.

The Solution

FARMIONIC developed a container system equipped with a robot and a system for the smart control of climate, light, fertiliser, and water. This allows environmental conditions to be controlled and individually adapted to the cultivated plants. The container system is complemented by a cloud-based solution for monitoring and analysing all system processes and the health status of the cultivated plants. FARMIONIC’s vision is to set up fully automated containers in cities, for example in parking lots, underground car parks, train stations, and other central points.

The Benefits

The Automatic Harvest Assistant offers several advantages:

·       24/7 access to fresh vegetables and herbs

·       Shortest delivery times and transport routes

·       A consistent harvest in summer and winter

·       Pesticide-free vegetables and herbs that are produced completely sustainably

·       Minimal personnel costs

·       90% water savings compared to conventional agriculture

·       Independence from location

·       Better quality

This innovative solution also benefits society by using existing land in cities for food production, lowering CO2 emissions, and reducing air pollution and noise pollution through regional production.

3rd place: Dosing robot by tapo-fix

The third place was won by tapo-fix with their innovative dosing robot. This solution revolutionized sealant application with a room linear robot, enhancing precision and efficiency while reducing manual labor. This solution not only improved product quality but also resulted in significant cost savings and process optimization.

Problem

A person applies the sealant by hand. The precise application of the sealant requires a great deal of concentration and is time-consuming.

Solution

tapo-fix has assembled its own solution from modular components, a room linear robot and a drylin E motor control system. The advantages of automation are a more precise and faster application of the sealant. The system works in parallel with an employee who carries out other tasks at the same time. In addition, all employees can operate the robot, as handling is very easy.

The benefits

·       Employees can be used for more valuable tasks

·       More precise and faster application of the sealant

·       Simple handling

Be Inspired by Past Winners

The last ROIBOT award saw 110 submissions, from articulated arm robots in agriculture and clever dosing solutions for the craft sector, to labelling robots for palletising applications. The ROIBOT award reflects the wide range of automation options available today.

So, what are you waiting for? Apply now for free and let your great automation ideas be rewarded!