Finally, meat production is getting automated thanks to an army of food-production robots.

Rob Spiegel

October 20, 2021

1 Min Read
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YouTube

During the height of the pandemic, meat-packing plants experienced devastating COVID-19 breakouts among their workers. Even the plants that didn’t experience infection breakouts still had to shut down. There was no practical way to social distance in the heavily hands-on work environment.

Not surprisingly, plant managers turned to the robot industry for help. There are plenty of robots working in food and beverage. The automation industry has figured out effective ways to wash down equipment and track goods to meet regulatory requirements. In those applications, the goods getting moved around tend to be standard in size, weight, and texture. It’s easy for a robot to move standard cartons of salad greens. But meat?

Yet, where there’s a will there’s a way. Where there’s a need for automation, there are innovative companies ready to give it a shot.

The video shows how a pork facility and a lamb facility deployed robots to meet the need for automation. A warning: the video is graphic. We’re talking meat here.

 

About the Author(s)

Rob Spiegel

Rob Spiegel serves as a senior editor for Design News. He started with Design News in 2002 as a freelancer and hired on full-time in 2011. He covers automation, manufacturing, 3D printing, robotics, AI, and more.

Prior to Design News, he worked as a senior editor for Electronic News and Ecommerce Business. He has contributed to a wide range of industrial technology publications, including Automation World, Supply Chain Management Review, and Logistics Management. He is the author of six books.

Before covering technology, Rob spent 10 years as publisher and owner of Chile Pepper Magazine, a national consumer food publication.

As well as writing for Design News, Rob also participates in IME shows, webinars, and ebooks.

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