New robotics technology to equip Danish companies for an uncertain world
Researchers from SDU, together with 22 other partners, are part of the research and innovation project MADE REACT. With the help of new technological solutions, they aim to make Danish industry more resilient in a changing world. The project is supported by Innovation Fund Denmark and has a total budget of over 100 million.
How do you prepare Danish manufacturing companies for a world marked by military conflicts, political tensions, and global trade wars?
One option is to enable companies to rapidly adapt their production to constantly changing conditions through digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics.
That is precisely the goal of a new research and innovation project called MADE REACT. It is supported by Innovation Fund Denmark and led by the manufacturing cluster MADE.
The consortium behind the project consists of a total of 14 companies, three GTS institutes, and five universities, including the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), which together will develop the new technological solutions.
SDU is developing the robots
At SDU, Professor Henrik Gordon Petersen will lead the work. He and his colleagues at SDU Robotics are primarily responsible for developing the robotic systems.
- Our task, together with our partners, is to develop more flexible and robust robotic systems that can handle the many fluctuations and uncertainties currently affecting the world. For example, it could mean having to replace components because those normally used in production are suddenly no longer available, explains Henrik Gordon Petersen.
- This requires the ability to rapidly reprogramme robots and adapt production systems—something that has traditionally been very difficult. There is still much development needed, but that is exactly what we are working on in our Industry 4.0 Lab, says the professor.
Stepping up the pace
The ambition of the REACT project is that the new technology can even turn these uncertain times into a competitive advantage for Danish companies.
- Danish manufacturing must turn global uncertainty into new competitive opportunities. We need to speed up and be more proactive if we want to keep up with developments and avoid losing sales, says Nigel Edmondson, Director of the manufacturing cluster MADE, in a press release from Innovation Fund Denmark.
- That is why it is crucial that the MADE REACT project brings together key players from the Danish manufacturing sector to create new, concrete solutions to the challenges.