Photoneo, now part of Zebra Technologies, is set to unveil what it describes as “a groundbreaking robotic solution” that directly tackles a long-standing challenge in automotive manufacturing: the automated picking of delicate parts from densely packed bag racks.
The company says attendees at Automate Show 2025 (booth #641) will witness the industry’s first live demonstration of In-Motion Hand-Eye Bag Rack Picking.
This innovative system achieves fully automated, collision-free retrieval by seamlessly integrating precision, speed, and adaptability.
Daniel Otto, global sales and marketing lead at Photoneo, says: “In this demo, we’re not just picking parts – we’re picking apart the old limitations of robotic vision.
“This is the first time you can see a robot solve this kind of complex handling task with real-time 3D Scanning in motion and advanced path planning. It’s a major step forward for smart automation in automotive and beyond.”
The breakthrough: 10x faster scanning for complex picking
Traditional robotic systems struggle with bag racks, often requiring numerous stops and scans. Photoneo’s solution utilizes its MotionCam-3D, mounted in a hand-eye configuration, to capture a continuous stream of 3D data while the robot arm moves.
This “scanning-in-motion” technology, combined with Photoneo’s mature bin picking software, reduces scanning cycle times by a factor of ten.
Witness the innovation at booth #641:
- Continuous 3D perception: MotionCam-3D with 3D Instant Meshing provides uninterrupted, multi-angle vision, enabling accurate object recognition and localization without halting the robot.
- Sub-millimeter precision: Dynamic calibration ensures the robot picks accurately from complex orientations.
- Intelligent collision avoidance: Photoneo’s Bin Picking Studio prevents collisions within the tight rack compartments and surrounding workspace.
- Versatile workflow: The demonstration features a single system performing bag rack picking, depositing, bin picking, and reinsertion in a continuous loop.
The technology behind the breakthrough
The demo utilizes a Universal Robots UR10e equipped with a MotionCam-3D and an electric two-finger gripper, all powered by Photoneo’s Bin Picking Studio. This integrated solution offers seamless compatibility and rapid deployment.
The result is a system capable of extracting parts of various colors and shapes from tightly packed bag racks in real time, without stopping. This marks a pivotal advancement in automotive automation.
