Wyzo, a new high-speed pick-and-place sidebot can be programmed to work safely side-by-side with humans without protective barriers or performance compromises.
The compact and agile sidebot Wyzo is designed to fit anywhere on the production floor. At less than 0.5 m2 and just 1.80 meters in height, it can easily be moved from one workstation to another, eliminating bottlenecks and enabling fast ROI.
The brainchild of Demaurex SA, pioneer of the Delta robot, Wyzo is represented locally by Radial Design. It is available for companies making their first steps into automation, as well as for large manufacturers looking for versatility.
Wyzo CEO Frank Souyris says creating Wyzo started with a dream.
“We wanted to give every operator out there an assistant for day-to-day tasks on the production floor,” Souyris says.
While traditional pick-and-place robots are large and work on fully automated lines separated from operators by protective doors, Wyzo’s advanced safety system allows it to collaborate with humans in proximity. Thanks to its high-tech robotic arm and built-in or external vision systems, the sidebot finds and picks products at 80 cycles per minute, with a payload of half a kilogram.
Through its advanced sensor technology, Wyzo constantly monitors its surroundings for the presence of human activity, allowing it to maximise performance when on its own and to slow to a safe operating speed when a human is close.
For manufacturers switching between products, Wyzo is highly compatible with all regular grippers on the market with changeover speeds of less than nine seconds. To meet ever-changing production demands, it also offers integrated pneumatic, electric, and vacuum controls.
Wyzo’s Human Machine Interface (HMI) is simplified for intuitive use by operators with no prior training in automated solutions. Its mobile terminal is easy to operate and doesn’t require a script or programming to get up and running. Based on more than 30 years of software development for Delta robots, Wyzo’s state-of-the-art pick-and-place software has been refined for ease of use and control.
“It is not a mere machine. Wyzo is a co-worker who is easy to communicate with through a simple interface. Maybe the next generation will even have a conversation with its colleagues.
“Regardless of its conversational skills, Wyzo’s ability to be effectively integrated into existing production lines to perform pick-and-place tasks flexibly and reliably will certainly put a smile on manufacturers’ faces,” Souyris says.
Wyzo is setting a new benchmark for collaborative production that combines the best of human and machine abilities.
This article first appeared in the March 2022 edition of Food & Drink Business.
