#ThoughtsOnRobots: Pascal Klee

In this interview with OnRobot, Sales Manager Automation Pascal Klee from Müller Maschinentechnik shares his views on the future of collaborative applications. 

For Pascal Klee from the German Universal Robots distributor Müller Maschinentechnik, there is no doubt Covid-19 will have a big impact on the implementation of collaborative automation in the future. 

"I think the worldwide pandemic will result in more manufacturers turning to collaborative applications because they make it possible to maintain production in case of sickness of lockdown. Especially, the market will rise in the SME segment because smaller companies are often more flexible and open to new technology."

Deployed in 6-8 weeks

According to Pascal Klee, the biggest advantage for collaborative applications is that the applications are easy to use and fast to deploy in all kinds of production environments. 

"Collaborative applications are easy to program, and they can be deployed in as little as 6-8 weeks. Also, employees can work directly with the robots without fences or other precautions, and the robots are flexible and easy to move around which make them perfect for doing small batches. Another advantage is that collaborative applications have a fast ROI compared to industrial robots."

Involve workers from day 1

When deploying collaborative applications, Pascal Klee advice to involve the workers in the process from day 1.

"It's crucial for a successful implementation to talk to employees and involve them in the process. They are the ones that are going to use the application and it reduces their potential fear of the robot if they learn about the applications' possibilities before working with it. 

"Also, it's a good idea to start with a simple application and then scale up later. In that way, the company can learn the most about how collaborative applications work before moving on to harder automation tasks. The principle of KIS(Keep It Simple) is always a good way to start a project."

Get external advice

Pascal Klee recommends getting external advice from experts if nobody in the company has worked with automation before.

"Expert can help with estimating space requirements, deciding the right cycle time and speed, and choosing the right end effector. Also, experts can help planning the appropriate safety measures for the application."

Looking forwards, Pascal Klee sees great potential in both traditional applications like palletizing and machine loading and more innovative applications like OnRobot's 2,5D Vision System which offers depth perception for varying heights or stacked objects. 

"Collaborative automation is the future, and even though I have worked within the field a long time, I still get amazed about the applications and their ease of use. The potential is enormous."

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