News

Meat Factory Cell in the International Journal of Robotics Research

21. februar 2024

Today, an article that has been in the works for almost 18 months, has been published in the International Journal of Robotics Research. The article, entitled “RoBUTCHER: A novel robotic meat factory cell platform”, describes particularly the Meat Factory Cell (MFC) system being utilised in a particular use-case: shoulder removal.

“The system is evaluated based on data from testing and development sessions (June–November 2022), with a total of 34 attempted shoulder removals. Data regarding the MFCs’ ability to handle variation, in addition to success rate and process timing models are presented. Qualitative feedback from skilled butchers is also discussed. The authors propose that, as well as technical development of the platform, it is important to consider new ways of comparing unconventional systems with their conventional counterparts. Innovative manufacturing systems have more to offer than raw speed and volume; traits such as flexibility, robustness and scalability – particularly economic scalability – should play a prominent role. Future legislation and standards must also encourage innovation rather than hinder innovative robotics solutions.”

It is noted that a further article is expected to describe the results from the system during its industrial trials in Germany, where it was placed at a small industrial slaughterhouse. We expect (publication processing time notwithstanding) those results to be available some time in late in 2024.

Find the full article, open access, here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02783649241234035.