{"id":2915,"date":"2020-06-04T15:58:55","date_gmt":"2020-06-04T20:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/?p=2915"},"modified":"2020-12-11T15:05:37","modified_gmt":"2020-12-11T21:05:37","slug":"robotics-industry-offers-solutions-to-combat-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/04\/robotics-industry-offers-solutions-to-combat-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Robotics Industry Offers Solutions to Combat COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Coronavirus pandemic is driving up demand and spurring innovation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Nick Fortuna<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a long time, the robotics industry couldn\u2019t avoid criticism that its products were replacing human workers, but public sentiment is shifting now that the coronavirus pandemic has brought much of the global economy to a screeching halt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social distancing makes it challenging to fully staff manufacturing plants, warehouses and distribution centers, but robots are helping to pick up the slack, and consumers are beginning to take notice, according to Mike Cicco, president and chief executive of the robotics manufacturer and MHI member FANUC America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While automotive production has been \u201chit hard\u201d by the pandemic, Cicco said, industries such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverages and consumer goods are plowing ahead to meet consumer demand, and robots are helping to make that possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think this is going to bring awareness to how much robots and automation are in our manufacturing companies around the country and certainly around the world,\u201d Cicco said. \u201cI think robots and automation are playing a critical role.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cicco made his remarks during an April 8 webinar hosted by the Robotic Industries Association and its parent organization, the Association for Advancing Automation. The webinar detailing how COVID-19 is affecting the robotics industry also featured J\u00fcrgen von Hollen, president of MHI member Universal Robots; Milton Guerry, president of SCHUNK USA; and Melonee Wise, CEO of MHI member Fetch Robotics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Von Hollen said robots on manufacturing lines are quickly being retooled and repurposed to make personal protective equipment, test kits and other supplies for medical professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think people are understanding how important technology, automation and robotics are to their industries, perhaps more than ever before,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wise said autonomous guided vehicles at manufacturing plants, warehouses and fulfillment centers are allowing employees to meet social distancing requirements on operating floors, reducing the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you look within a lot of the facilities, instead of people doing the transfer between locations, the robots are doing that transfer,\u201d Wise said. \u201cThat\u2019s been helping a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read More\u2026<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coronavirus pandemic is driving up demand and spurring innovation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":2917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,13],"tags":[1529,1528,39,37,1523,1527,442,1902,1522,1524,175,1525,1526,879],"class_list":["post-2915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-technology","tag-coronavirus-supply-chain","tag-covid-19-front-lines","tag-fanuc-america","tag-fetch-robotics","tag-jurgen-von-hollen","tag-logistics-covid-19","tag-mhi-solutions","tag-mhi-solutions-magazine","tag-mike-cicco","tag-milton-guerry","tag-robotics","tag-schunk-usa-melonee-wise","tag-supply-chain-robotics","tag-universal-robots"],"yoast_head":"\nRobotics Industry Offers Solutions to Combat COVID-19 - MHI Solutions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/04\/robotics-industry-offers-solutions-to-combat-covid-19\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Robotics Industry Offers Solutions to Combat COVID-19 - 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