Bakeries are looking for ways to add versatility and drive efficiency in their operations by using smart robotics that adapt to new products and packaging changes.

“Multiple infeeds on AMF’s robotic-handling technologies deliver flexible design configurations for any bakery layout with options for vertical case loading and multiple case-loading configurations,” said Dan Alper, product marketing manager, AMF Workhorse, a brand of AMF Bakery System.

The future of machine learning will be significantly different from today. Michael Ruijs, manager, research and development, Verhoeven Bakery Equipment Family, predicted that new sensor technologies, vision systems and AI will play a significant role in teaching robots and cobots new tasks going forward. AI will also transform how programming is done in the coming years.

Ruijs pointed out that some companies are even looking into deep learning, where AI teaches computers to process data similar to the human brain, to discover new ways to further improve various manufacturing processes. Additionally, others are exploring the potential of closed-loop or predictive analytics software that relies on machine learning to possibly predict the future.

“The huge potential of applying deep learning to so-called closed-loop control systems, for example, is leading to these systems being adjusted automatically where human intervention was previously required,” he said.

Ruijs predicted rapidly developing technology, driven by AI, will enable robots and cobots to not only take over physical human labor but also better anticipate changing conditions in a similar way to humans.

“Given the current developments in AI and humanoid robotics, I expect that it will not take more than 10 years before the first mass-produced humanoid robots enter the manufacturing industry market to take over or alleviate human tasks,” he said.

If that happens within the next decade, that will be one giant leap for the baking and snack industries.

This article is an excerpt from the June 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Robotics Packaging, click here.