Machine vision will play a central role alongside robotics and handling technologies at the Automatica trade fair when it takes place in Munich from 3-6 June. The automation and mechatronics event, which covers robotics, assembly and handling technology, drive technology, safety, positioning systems, as well as vision technology, will run over five halls at Messe München with around 740 exhibitors expected and around 30,000 visitors.
The VDMA Robotics and Automation Association is a partner of the event. In a statement, Patrick Schwarzkopf, deputy managing director of the association, said: ‘In Europe, North America and Asia, robotics and automation have become the key to the industrial sector’s competitiveness, and this trend is still to grow in the future.’
The VDMA predicts 4 per cent growth in 2014 for the German robotics and automation sector, with an estimated turnover of €11 billion. The German machine vision market grew 5 per cent in 2013 to €1.6 billion, according to the VDMA, and similar 5 per cent growth is expected for 2014. VDMA Industrial Machine Vision is exhibiting at the joint machine vision pavilion at the show, alongside solution providers, component manufacturers and research institutes.
The automotive sector has a share of more than 50 per cent of the robotics and automation industry, according to the VDMA. Geographically, Japan, China, USA, Korea and Germany account for 70 per cent of global robot sales, according to figures from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), with installations of industrial robots in China increasing by an average of 25 per cent per annum between 2005 and 2012.
Automatica will have a new exhibition area dedicated to service robots, a brand of robotics that act alongside humans, such as in agriculture and automated guided vehicles used in factories. According to the IFR, industry turnover for service robots reached €2.5 billion in 2012.
The show will run alongside Intersolar Europe, an exhibition for the solar industry, and Maintain, a trade fair for industrial maintenance. Automatica will also run a forum with presentations on a range of topics including VDMA’s sustainability initiative, Blue Competence, flexible production, and Industry 4.0, the next revolution of the factory built around the internet and IT. There will also be special exhibitions on automated composite production and the concept of the ‘smart factory’ and Industry 4.0.
