Descripción del proyecto
Robótica y automatización para mejorar el procesado de carnes
El sector de la carne es uno de los más importantes en la agricultura de la Unión Europea (UE), y está compuesto por agricultores, cooperativas agrícolas y mataderos. Uno de sus principales desafíos es mantener el nivel de calidad. Por lo tanto, la automatización es esencial para cumplir con los requisitos de seguridad alimentaria establecidos por la UE. Sin embargo, los sistemas avanzados de robótica y automatización son caros, poco flexibles y carecen de la escalabilidad y fortaleza necesarias, lo que limita su compra y aplicación a gran escala. El nuevo y revolucionario concepto de automatización desarrollado por científicos en Noruega y Dinamarca —el «Meat Factory Cell» (MFC)— no tiene autonomía. El proyecto financiado con fondos europeos RoBUTCHER se ha propuesto desarrollar un MFC cognitivo, con funciones avanzadas de autonomía desarrolladas con una tecnología robótica fundamental basada en la inteligencia artificial y la cognición. Como resultado, los investigadores podrán aportar herramientas para procesadores de carne a pequeña y gran escala a fin de superar los obstáculos técnicos que limitan la adopción de sistemas de automatización robóticos.
Objetivo
Uptake of advanced robotics and automation in the Agri-Food sector, specifically in meat processing, has been stifled due to the perceived high cost as well as the lack of flexibility, robustness and scalability to suit different volumes, smaller in particular. This conflicts with recommendations that governments across Europe should encourage greater food system efficiency and security. Pioneers in Norway (NMBU/Animalia) and Denmark (DTI) have been working to address this issue and have created a new automation concept for the meat sector: the Meat Factory Cell (MFC). The MFC today is simple, relying upon the intelligence of human experts to complete complex tasks. However, meat processing plants are amongst the lowest quality working environments in Europe, making autonomy a must.
RoBUTCHER aims to develop a cognitive MFC, capable of autonomy. To achieve this, RoBUTCHER has the following underpinning objectives: (1) Assessment of social, legislative and best practise meat industry requirements; (2) Development of novel technology modules for autonomous cutting trajectory planning, and integration with cooperative human–robot interfaces; (3) Creation of enabling intelligent tools to evaluate the system, chiefly for cutting and handling; and (4) Industrial scale pilot of the cognitive MFC.
Core robotic technologies are integral to RoBUTCHER, where the main emphasis is AI and Cognition, but natural overlap exists to include Cooperative Human-Robot Interfaces and Cognitive Mechatronics. Today there are no suitable “off-the-shelf” solutions. The ambition for RoBUTCHER is to develop a system to TRL6, using existing MFC infrastructure within the Consortium as a catalyst for research and innovation. Successful delivery of the project will provide the robustness, flexibility and scalability that small and medium meat processors require to lower the technical barriers they face in adopting robotic automation, which would improve job quality and food security in Europe.
Ámbito científico
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringroboticscognitive robots
- social sciencessociologyindustrial relationsautomation
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringmechatronics
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesnutrition
- natural scienceschemical sciencescatalysis
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Convocatoria de propuestas
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoriaConvocatoria de subcontratación
H2020-ICT-2019-2
Régimen de financiación
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinador
1433 As
Noruega