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���Customers want stuff that���s easy to clean,��� remarks Dick Motley, senior account manager at Rochester Hills, Michigan-based FANUC Robotics. ���We have a robot in our product line that was designed from the ground up as a food handler, so it has USDA acceptance. It���s a very clean machine���knowing that they wanted to handle exposed food product really drove a lot of the mechanical design and material selection.��� Alongside the necessity for sterile equipment, customers are looking for equipment that���s simple, yet intuitive. There���s a definite move towards the standardization of robotics equipment from an interface perspective. The incentive behind creating an intuitive friendly interface is creating equipment that is easier to understand and maintain. Innovations with machine vision are also becoming more prevalent in the industry. Vision is a huge advantage with robotics equipment, particularly with autonomous machinery. Some vision solutions, such as stereo vision, require the need to bury wires into the warehouse floor to give autonomous machinery a map of where to navigate throughout the warehouse. Although stereo vision can help guide machinery, it���s also a very invasive form of vision technology and doesn���t offer much flexibility. FANUC���s iRVision is noninvasive and integrates with the company���s robotic controller and alleviates downtime. iRVision���s cameras take up to 120 frames per second and can recognize the freshness and quality of food items. For instance, if the packing of a food or beverage product is damaged, the cameras will recognize that. Some advantages In addition to the innovations listed above, automation offers numerous advantages for the food and beverage sector, such as an increase in throughput. Robots have the ability to work nonstop 24 hours a day, seven days a week; therefore a food or beverage company���s productivity levels are greatly augmented. In addition to increased speed and reliability, robotic equipment also boosts safety. ���They introduce a level of safety and consistency in terms of applying automation to a repetitive task,��� says Jeff Hedges, president of Moorestown, New Jersey-based OPEX Material Handling. Warehouse workers no longer have to handle strenuous and repetitive tasks that can cause physical injuries and can instead perform more value-added tasks. Customer testimonies Baltimore, Maryland-based Pompeian Inc, an olive oil manufacturer, was looking to reduce downtime in their olive oil facility while simultaneously boosting production. Previously, their cases of olive oil and goods were manually wrapped and stacked onto pallets. The labor intensive process drove up labor costs. According to Kevin Lydon, vice president of operations at Pompeian, in a Richmond News article: ���Four individuals used to manually stack between A well designed warehouse storage optimization system always has room for dessert. No matter how many SKUs there are in your product line, the design and engineering teams at Westfalia Technologies can customize warehouse solutions that maximize storage, optimize product fow, reduce costs and keep perishables rotating through your system. So whether you���re moving fresh, frozen or extended shelf-life products, Westfalia has a solution that fts your needs. Contact Westfalia for your custom solution today, or visit us at www.WestfaliaUSA.com to take a tour of a virtual warehouse. Westfalia Technologies, Inc. 3655 Sandhurst Drive York, PA 17406 717-764-1115 www.WestfaliaUSA.com www.foodlogistics.com FOOD LOGISTICS ��� JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 39