OnRobot, the world’s leading provider of hardware and software solutions for collaborative robotic applications, has launched the industry’s first automated platform for the deployment of collaborative applications – D:PLOY – in Asia Pacific (APAC).
Dubbed the biggest innovation since the collaborative robot (cobot), the company said in a statement that D:PLOY will revolutionise and simplify automation for manufacturers in almost every industry. “It offers dramatic savings of up to 90% on deployment and redeployment time, enabling manufacturers of all sizes to reap the benefits of automation. D:PLOY will work with any leading collaborative or light industrial robot.”
The launch is timely as demand for robotic adoption soars in APAC. This is particularly so as manufacturers turn to automation to cope with rising inflation, labour shortages and supply chain delays. Robotics in APAC is projected to increase from US$18.7 billion in 2018 to US$43.7 billion in 2023.
“The launch of D:PLOY marks a huge milestone for OnRobot and offers a foundational market shift that will alter the way automation is deployed across industries,” says Enrico Krog Iversen, CEO of OnRobot.
“D:PLOY is set to benefit manufacturers, system integrators, distributors and robot manufacturers. As deployment and redeployment becomes drastically faster, easier and less complex, manufacturers of all sizes can increase productivity and solve their labour shortage challenges.
“System integrators can complete more projects in less time for greater returns while distributors can tap into new customers segments. Robot manufacturers can expect higher sales from greater automation adoption. D:PLOY is an automation and market enabler for the entire industry,” he added.
“D:PLOY offers tremendous potential in APAC where a majority of organizations (93%) view smart manufacturing as “very” or “extremely” important to future success,” said James Taylor, General Manager, APAC, OnRobot.
“While robot deployments have become easier over the past few years, quite a bit of set up and programming is still required to get them up and running. This is where APAC manufacturers, particularly SMEs, require support for complexities that could incur additional costs, delaying the ROI on their automation investment. D:PLOY will make those complexities a thing of the past, enabling common robotic applications to be deployed significantly faster and easier,” added James.
The powerful D:PLOY platform allows users to deploy applications directly on the manufacturing floor in a few simple steps. D:PLOY automatically discovers installed hardware while automatically generating a collision-free path of the robot based on defined obstacles. All of the program logic, signals exchange, events handling and path planning for the entire application are generated automatically based on a few user inputs – zero programming needed.
D:PLOY ensures that the application is optimized to be most efficient, ensuring the fastest collision-free path and solving any possible singularity. It offers insights into performance indicators and other relevant metrics specific to each application which can be accessed in real time and consulted historically. Lastly, D:PLOY delivers the flexibility and redeployment speed to respond quickly to changes in production requirements, for example when introducing new parts.
D:PLOY is expected to be available in December 2022. The first release will target key applications such as palletizing, CNC machine tending, packaging and material handling which are typically used in industries such as automotive, electronics, metal and machinery, F&B and life sciences.
Future releases will address additional machine tending and material handling applications as well as process and assembly applications. According to the International Federation of Robotics, the installation of new industrial robots in factories worldwide hit an all time high in 2021, reaching over half a million robots.
Asia remains the world’s largest market for industrial robots, accounting for 74% of all newly deployed robots last year. Singapore, Thailand and India were ranked among the 15 largest markets for industrial robot installations in 2021 alongside robot heavyweights China, Japan and the United States.
