Robotics to Combat Challenges occurred with Covid-19 Pandemic

In the global fight against COVID-19, technology has played a vital role in supporting humans in controlling the virus’s spread and dealing with situations.

Robotics is one of the primary technologies and significantly influenced the market during the pandemic.

Robotic automation is gaining traction in both established and emerging industries. According to Allied Market Research, the global robotics market is anticipated to grow at a significant CAGR from 2021 to 2030.

The pandemic has accelerated far-reaching global major trends, such as labor shortages and supply chain instability, and an increasing need to operate sustainably and resiliently, prompting new enterprises to turn to robotic automation.

Strategic partnerships to penetrate the untapped markets

The outbreak of Covid-19 has ramped up the growth of the e-commerce sector. The surge in the number of online orders was challenging for the e-commerce sector, warehouses, and logistics business.

It was tough to complete the packaging and shipment of boundless orders that too correctly while tackling the growing shortage of laborers.

The rapid demand in the e-commerce industry and the requirement for sustainable and quick delivery services provides lucrative opportunities for automation in the warehouses and logistics industries.

Goods-to-person technology is expected to witness massive demand in the evolving market. Global leaders in sustainable packaging solution providers and goods-to-person solution providers joined hands to provide sustainable complementary technologies for order fulfillment to the consumers.

A leading robotic goods-to-person solutions company, Caja Robotics, recently announced its alliance with Ranpak, which is a global provider of sustainable and automated paper-packaging solutions.

Under the partnership, the companies aim to expand their joint product offerings for the logistics industry customers.

The partner companies will work together to provide a wider range of solutions that will significantly improve fulfillment processes from the time of e-commerce orders placements to packing and shipping when the order is ready.

The solution will combine reverse loading and unloading, picking, and packing capabilities. Another couple of firms formed a collaboration to automate the storage and depalletization of the goods in the warehouses.

HAI Robotics, a next-generation warehouse automation solution provider, has announced a new partnership with Storage Solutions Inc.

This technology automates the storage and retrieval of containers or cartons to build a goods-to-person picking and replenishing workflow. It also allows storage up to 27 feet high to enhance storage density.

Storage Solutions will be able to incorporate HAI Robotics’ technology into warehouses, distribution facilities, and fulfillment centers across North America due to this collaboration.

HAI Robotics’ technology can be employed in the e-commerce, third-party logistics, pharmaceutical, and manufacturing industries to deliver flexible and efficient solutions.

With partnerships and innovation, robotics is speedily penetrating several industrial sectors. Apart from manufacturing, automobiles, delivery, healthcare, and other industries, robotics has gone a long way in the food and beverage business.

Food manufacturing has been transformed by the integration of AI and robotics technologies. The adoption of robotics has resulted in less wastage, increased freshness, and product lifespan.

Restaurants are also flourishing from robotics advancements by employing robotic chefs and autonomous kitchen assistants to automate the most basic and monotonous tasks of cooking and provide the top quality service.

Chipotle’s Chippy, an AI kitchen assistant, is one of the eye-catching advancements and the first robotic system deployed by the company. Chippy is capable of preparing and seasoning tortilla chips on its own and is being tested by the restaurant chain.

Chipotle collaborated with Miso Robotics for this advanced robotic system. The robot has been programmed to use the same chips-making procedures as humans.

The robot is now being tested at the Chipotle Cultivate Center in Irvine, California, which is the company’s innovation hub.

This relationship with Miso and Chipotle demonstrates the industry’s willingness to adopt disruptive, modern systems and offer the finest possible services to its clients. The integration of robotics and other technology will open up a plethora of prospects for the industry.

Covid-19 impact

The prolonged lockdown disrupted the global supply chain, and several manufacturing industries have halted their operations during the initial days of the pandemic, thus affecting the global robotics market growth.

In addition, R&D in the robotics market was severely affected. However, the robotics market witnessed a growing demand for disinfection and delivery robots during the pandemic.

Robots were of great help in the healthcare industry to fight the deadly covid-virus infection. Robots were employed to help workers and reduce human-to-human interaction, thus enhancing the safety of medical professionals.

Robots, like other technology, are becoming more crucial in the fight against diseases like COVID-19. Apart from the healthcare sector, robotics and automation have helped many other businesses with contactless operations and aided the labor shortage crisis during the pandemic.

Moreover, as the world is getting back to normalcy, Covid-19 would hopefully speed up the acceptance of existing robots and their adoption to new niches. The market could also lead to the development of new robots.