Sustainability, innovation and the future according to B&R

At SPS, B&R Automazione Industriale skilfully combined technological know-know-how and sustainability, with the addition of particular attention towards the new generations. Benedetta Aliai Torres, marketing and communication manager of B&R Italia, tells us the original change of perspective which characterised its presence at the show.

«The first new development that I’d like to underline - Torres begins - is the stand “without walls”, composed of a completely recyclable aluminium frame covered by sheets produced in OBP (Ocean Bound Plastic) coming from the reconversion of marine plastic waste thanks to the “SeaQual Initiative” project and printed with water-based inks for complete circularity and minimal environmental impact. It is sufficient to point out that, overall, the B&R’s stand alone produced a quantity of CO2 around nine times less than standard levels, with 88 kg di CO2 against 787 kg for a traditional stand».

The stand was also characterised by a phigital development: «We installed sliding screens, borrowed from digital twin concepts. The sliding monitors, if positioned in front of the display cases where we exhibited our products – the manager explains - scanned them, permitting access to interactive and multimedia contents to discover how they work and the technical characteristics, exactly as with a digital twin ».

The common thread of B&R’s presence in the fair was, however, artificial intelligence, the new development of the software hub with Automation Studio 6 «which integrates new vision functionalities with anomaly detection, Copilot and the automatic generation of machine software with a natural language to support those writing software, allowing them to concentrate on writing the more complex parts. In addition, there’s the ACOPOS 6D Launch Pad and the 180° curve that makes ACOPOStrak the most compact transport system in the world, with a width of only 330 mm. In this way, B&R allows for a jump to the next level in very high-density productions, permitting producers to insert two units where in the past there was only space for one. The overview closed with the Codian Delta robot and, for the mechatronic part, AI applied to ACOPOStrak monitoring».

Torres gave us a final reflection on the work performed, with a thought towards the future generations of technicians: «Convinced of the social value of training, we welcomed every day over 150 youngsters from technical institutes and universities, managed by our Academy Manager Flavio Renaldini and by Marco Scipione, who organised micro refresher lessons for the entire duration of the SPS 2024 event».