OMRON offers perception into new devoted robotics group

OMRON mentioned its new robotics enterprise with be a vital pillar of its end-to-end automation methods. | Supply: OMRON

OMRON Corp. has created a devoted international robotics group, efficient April 1. It mentioned this strategic step displays its continued dedication to robotics. The Kyoto, Japan-based firm mentioned the brand new unit will function alongside its automation enterprise, permitting them to enhance and reinforce one another.

Via this new group, OMRON mentioned it’s additional investing within the long-term success of its prospects by making certain fast decision-making and world-class technical help, in addition to strengthening its specialised experience throughout Europe.

The funding consists of the firm‘s Automation and Robotics Facilities of Excellence in Annecy, France; Barcelona, Spain; Dortmund, Germany; and the newly opened Automation Heart in Stuttgart, Germany. It additionally helps an in depth community of proof-of-concept (POC) labs that help native buyer innovation.

The specialised group in Europe consists of a devoted workforce of gross sales, software, and providers engineers. They are going to function at each the European and nation ranges, and work intently with the worldwide robotics group. The brand new setup will improve focused technical experience and permit OMRON to reply quicker to evolving buyer wants, asserted the gadget maker.

The brand new group additionally strengthens ties with OMRON’s international analysis and growth and robotics groups, alongside the newly established European R&D workforce. This helps quicker innovation and the supply of options which can be intently aligned with the particular wants of European prospects, it mentioned.

Justin King, vp of product administration, advertising and marketing, and enterprise growth at OMRON Robotics and Security Applied sciences, gave The Robotic Report additional perception into the corporate’s determination to ascertain the brand new group.

OMRON discusses new group’s targets

May you share extra in regards to the strategic determination behind making a specialised robotics group? What hole or alternative available in the market are you addressing?

King: The creation of OMRON’s specialised robotics group wasn’t pushed by a selected market hole, however moderately by a want to boost how we serve our prospects.

This new construction is designed to streamline and specialize our method by extra intently integrating worth creation – product growth and manufacturing – with worth supply, together with gross sales, software engineering, technical help, and repair. By bringing these capabilities nearer collectively, we purpose to supply extra tailor-made, responsive, and high-quality options to our robotics prospects.

Importantly, this initiative additionally advantages prospects throughout OMRON’s broader automation portfolio. By enabling our gross sales and help groups to develop deeper experience of their respective product traces, we’re elevating service high quality and buyer satisfaction in our automation choices as nicely. The robotics and automation companies proceed to enhance one another, creating synergies that improve the general worth we ship as one OMRON.

Moreover, the brand new construction brings us nearer to our finish customers and companions by shortening the space between prospects and the “manufacturing unit.” This nearer connection permits quicker response instances, deeper engagement, and extra agile decision-making, supported by standardized processes that drive consistency, effectivity, and innovation.

What are OMRON’s major imaginative and prescient and targets for this devoted robotics group? How do you see it driving buyer worth within the close to and long run?

King: The first imaginative and prescient of OMRON’s devoted robotics group is to foster deep specialization and seamless collaboration, enabling us to ship larger worth to prospects and companions around the globe, each now and sooner or later.

As talked about earlier, this group is designed to sharpen our concentrate on fixing our prospects’ most urgent automation challenges. These embrace addressing labor shortages, enhancing productiveness, enhancing operational effectivity, and making certain office security.

By aligning our experience and sources round these core targets, we’re not solely enhancing our means to reply to speedy buyer wants but in addition laying the muse for long-term innovation and partnership. This method ensures that we stay a trusted, forward-thinking automation companion as our prospects’ wants evolve.

Now accepting session submissions!

Challenges and alternatives for OMRON robotics

What robotics improvements does the group supply? Are there any new applied sciences in growth?

King: With over 40 years of robotics experience, OMRON provides a strong portfolio that features autonomous cellular robots or AMRs, collaborative robots or cobots, and industrial robots.

Previously two years, OMRON has launched a number of groundbreaking applied sciences:

• MD 650/900 Sequence: A brand new medium-duty line of cellular robots, augmenting OMRON’s current LD and HD methods. The MD 650/900 fashions help masses as much as 900 kg with 360-degree security protection and ultra-fast charging capabilities.
• OL-450S: OMRON’s first AMR with omni-directional motion and an built-in elevate, the OL-450S helps a 450 kg payload, provides seamless deployment with current carts and trolleys, and comes commonplace with wi-fi charging.

All OMRON AMRs are powered by our industry-leading FLOW Core software program suite, which permits unified fleet administration and optimized operational effectivity.

Within the collaborative robotics area, OMRON lately launched the TM25S, a high-performance cobot able to dealing with payloads as much as 25 kg with a attain of 1.9 meters—excellent for palletizing and different demanding functions throughout numerous sectors.

Via these improvements, OMRON continues to ship sensible, scalable robotic options that rework operations and drive measurable worth for our prospects.

Which industries are the important thing focus to your robots? Are you focusing on particular challenges or increasing into new sectors?

King: OMRON’s robotic options are primarily centered on 5 key industries: automotive and e-mobility, digital, medical, meals and commodities, and logistics. Inside these sectors, we help a variety of functions, together with palletizing and cellular manipulator options.

Our purpose is not only to develop particular person merchandise, but in addition to ship end-to-end options that handle real-world challenges tailor-made to the particular wants of every {industry}. Along with working immediately with finish customers, we collaborate intently with system integrators, OEMs, and channel companions to make sure seamless deployment and integration of our robotics applied sciences.

OMRON’s outlook for the subsequent 5 years

Do you could have plans for collaborative initiatives or partnerships to make sure tailor-made options?

King: OMRON locations a robust emphasis on collaborative initiatives and strategic alliances to ship custom-made options for our prospects. We work intently with finish customers, system integrators, and OEMs to realize a deep understanding of their distinctive challenges.

This collaborative method permits us to develop robotics options tailor-made to their wants. We then hunt down strategic alliances as required to boost our means to ship these options. Examples embrace:

• Techman Robotic – a long-standing alliance for collaborative robots; OMRON additionally owns a roughly 10% stake in Techman.
• Lowpad – this alliance is the muse of the OL-450S, integrating OMRON’s FLOW Core software program with Lowpad’s low-profile cellular robots to automate the motion of current carts and trolleys.
• Neura Robotics – initiated final yr, this alliance focuses on the potential for cognitive capabilities in industrial robotics.

Via these collaborations, OMRON stays dedicated to innovation and delivering specialised, value-driven options for our prospects.

Over the subsequent 5 years, the place do you envision the robotics division’s progress trajectory can be? Do you could have enlargement objectives in focus areas aside from Europe?

King: We anticipate a strong progress trajectory over the subsequent 5 years, fueled by international developments reminiscent of labor shortages and the demand for greater productiveness, operational effectivity, and elevated security requirements. These components proceed to drive the adoption of robotics and automation throughout a number of industries.

To help this progress, we’re making strategic organizational enhancements aimed toward enhancing how we serve our prospects. Whereas Europe stays a key market, our progress technique is actually international. We’ve got already applied comparable organizational enhancements throughout the Americas, Japan, and Southeast Asia, with plans to broaden these efforts into further areas.

This international method ensures we’re well-positioned to satisfy the evolving wants of our prospects and to proceed delivering superior robotics options worldwide.