Igus seeks exciting, quick return applications with cost-effective robotics

This year Igus will once again present the ROIBOT (Return on Investment in Robotics) Award, recognising the most creative applications. The judges are looking for projects that have achieved a quick return on investment using Igus Low Cost Automation and drylin drive axes. The winners will receive a robotics package of their choice worth up to €5,000 from the RBTX.com marketplace.

Over 70 submissions from around the world were received for the 2019/2020 ROIBOT Award. The winners, engineering students from Salzburg in Austria, impressed the judges by constructing a mobile robot system with grippers to carry out dangerous handling tasks from a safe distance. The assembly uses a glove equipped with sensor technology allowing intuitive control by means of gestures and providing feedback. The engineers developed a drive system, battery system and a mechanical framework for the low cost, maintenance-free Igus robolink D articulated arm, and the entry was impressive enough to win first place.

Second place went to Apostore’s pick-and-place system for the healthcare sector, consisting of a robot cell and a supply system to feed the bulk material. Third place went to Superwurm, a German company that farms earthworms. Superwurm used Igus Low Cost Automation to develop a system that counts worms automatically and packs them in cans.

In 2022, the ROIBOT competition is once again searching the globe for good Low Cost Automation applications that have led to a rapid return on investment. To qualify they can use Igus’s robolink articulated arm robots, drylin delta robots, Cartesian robots, and drylin drive technology. A panel of expert judges will evaluate the concept. Entries characterised by creativity and that deliver optimisation in design will receive higher ratings.

The entry deadline is 30 April 2022. Igus will present the awards in Munich at Automatica 2022, the leading trade fair for intelligent automation and robotics. Participants can apply on the Igus website.