3 questions for Dr.-Ing. Christopher Schneider, Business Development Manager Robotics EMEA, Yaskawa Europe Robotics Division
Christopher, Motoman robots have a reputation for being robust working machines for rough production environments. Now Yaskawa is going to branch out into the highly sensitive pharmaceutical and medical fields with new hygienically engineered robots. What made you go this way and what are your medium-term goals?
The new Hygienic Design Robots are an expansion to our portfolio with the goal of tapping into new market segments. Being one of the largest manufacturers of industrial robots with more than 100 models offered in Europe, we are well-established in the market and continuously look for new fields of application. Thus, branching out into sensitive areas such as food, pharmaceuticals and medical technology is an important strategic step in developing our portfolio.
We already have a strong presence in the food industry; however, this has been focused on logistics and end-of-line applications so far. The new robots unlock processes closer to the product for us—where requirements in terms of hygiene, cleanability, and regulations are particularly demanding. We have also been successfully implementing packaging and handling tasks of downstream processes in pharmaceuticals for years. Now we are advancing towards applications with greater product proximity that used to be hard to automate.
Our experience in lab automation, with the Dual Arm Robot in particular, demonstrates our capability to successfully implement complex tasks in sensitive environments. And this is where the Hygienic Design models come in: They combine robust design and precision with uncompromising hygiene and standard conformity.
How much of an effort was it to qualify standard robots for demanding healthtech applications and why did you choose to cooperate with Fraunhofer IPA in the process?
Robot development for demanding high-tech applications in pharmaceuticals, medicine, and food starts long before the validation stage—a precise requirements analysis needs to be conducted first. Hygiene, cleanability, materials, surfaces, sealings, and regulatory specifications must be considered right from the onset. The subsequent qualification then provides evidence that the requirements defined previously have been properly met. It confirms the result of a clearly structured development—and creates the required safety and acceptance in the market.
To achieve this, we draw on decades of robot development experience—in both Japan and Europe, where we have made targeted efforts to expand our presence through the Robot Factory and local development capacity. This lets us ensure market proximity and close cooperation with our local partners.
Cooperating with Fraunhofer IPA was an obvious choice in this context. The institute is one of Europe’s leaders in robotics, cleanroom technology, and hygienic design. Our cooperation has enabled us to create synergies between our technical expertise and the scientific competence and neutrality of a renowned partner. Not only does the institute provide the required experience in validating such systems, but it also provides the required testing environment and independence in terms of the methods used.
Your portfolio for hygiene-sensitive environments is limited to the HD7 and HD8 so far. What use cases are these robots qualified for and do you have plans of extending your portfolio with additional robot series?
Our HD7 and HD8 robots have been developed for applications in which extremely demanding hygiene standards must be met. Typical fields of application include the integration with isolators, handling unpackaged products in the pharmaceutical and food sectors, as well as packaging and filling processes where contamination of any kind must be prevented. So we are addressing exactly those areas where conventional industrial robots reach their limits and automation options used to be very limited.
These two models provide our customers with a safe and reliable solution for use cases in highly sensitive production environments. And we have a clear voice-of-the-customer approach: Development in close coordination with users to precisely match real-world requirements and provide solutions offering genuine added value.
At the same time, we are acutely aware that requirements can vary widely—from compact robots with low payloads for tight spaces to extended ranges and higher load capacities. The important thing for us is to extensively engage with our customers and partners in an effort to include these diverse requirements as we develop solutions that perfectly match the industry’s requirements.