Partnership will bring 3D safeguarding to collaborative human-robot palletizing for CPG manufacturers

Veo Robotics, the industrial automation company that created FreeMove®, a comprehensive 3D safeguarding system for industrial robots that powers dynamic human-robot collaboration, has announced a partnership with Gray Solutions, a leading automation services provider for the food and beverage sector. This partnership will enable Gray Solutions to include Veo's safety-certified flagship product as part of collaborative palletizing solutions for the CPG industry.

"Gray Solutions understands and has the ability to integrate new technologies like 3D dynamic safety, it is part of their DNA," said Ron Ledoux, Regional Sales Manager at Veo Robotics. "They understand that FreeMove is the type of disruptive technology that can significantly change how a workcell is configured by enabling any size robot to work in a collaborative manner."

The partnership comes at a time of accelerating automation from CPG manufacturers and warehouse distributors as they look to address labor shortages and supply chain constraints while maintaining productivity. The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) recently reported that food and consumer goods companies are among the fastest-growing sectors for robot orders, with purchases up 29% in 2021 from 2020.

CPG companies increasingly use these robots to stack products on pallets for shipments. However, even low-risk, highly automated tasks such as robotic palletizing require humans to enter a workcell and interact with a robot. Veo's FreeMove provides 3D speed and separation monitoring in these collaborative situations, allowing robots to work alongside their human coworkers safely and efficiently. Furthermore, FreeMove's ability to enable this human-robot collaboration with industrial robots rather than Power and Force Limited (PFL) robots means CPG manufacturing engineers don't have to sacrifice reach, speed, or payloads.

"Veo's FreeMove is the only product currently available with this level of safety design to unlock the true power of human-robot collaboration within the CPG market," said Sam Janes, Sr. Robotics Engineer of Gray Solutions.

"We are excited to offer it as part of our Robotic solutions for CPG companies looking to adapt to change with more automated and flexible manufacturing practices while maintaining Safety and reducing footprint," added Sawyer Dillard, Manager, Advanced Automation of Gray Solutions.

FreeMove has been certified for compliance from TÜV Rheinland with ISO 13849 for PLd, Category 3. Contact Veo Robotics for more information about FreeMove and its applications.

About Veo Robotics

Veo Robotics is an industrial automation company building comprehensive sensing and intelligence for robots to collaborate with humans safely. It is the creator of FreeMove®, a comprehensive 3D safeguarding system for industrial robots that powers dynamic human-robot interactions. FreeMove enables fluid, efficient, and flexible production lines. Veo currently partners with the world's four major robot manufacturers FANUC, Yaskawa, ABB, and Kuka. To learn more, please visit http://www.veobot.com.

About Gray Solutions

Gray Solutions, a Gray company, provides automation, operations, and information services focused on helping food & beverage customers implement smart manufacturing. Our creative approach to optimizing complex integrated processes allows us to deliver fast, transformative results for projects of all sizes. https://www.gray.com/gray-solutions/