UPV
UPV
UPV
UPV

LASA: Laboratory for the Automation of the Food Industry

At the Laboratory for the Automation of the Food Industry (LASA), our team of experts works on improving production processes in the food industry by developing automated and robotic solutions. At this laboratory, our experts have been designing and manufacturing end effectors and grips for more than 10 years, in order to robotically handle products that are sensitive to getting damaged, fragile or have irregular shapes.

They provide the following services:
  • Designing and manufacturing food-handling devices.
  • Closed-loop testing for several handling devices.
  • Optimizing pick&place processes.
  • Improving industrial grips.
  • Testing grip fatigue (bed testing).
  • Designing devices for measuring leaks in watertight bags.

Contact

Carlos Blanes Campos
cblanes@ai2.upv.es

Equipment

  • Closed-loop and open-loop circuit of conveyor belts with computer vision cameras.
  • ABBIRB340, Stäubli TX60 and ABB IRB140 robots.
  • Grip fatigue test bench.
  • Exhibition with over 30 pneumatic and electric grips with two, three and more fingers. The fingers are detachable. The grips provide self-centering, parallel, angular and almost parallel functions. In addition, they have one or multiple electronically configurable suction cups. Many of them are made of materials approved for food contact by the FDA.

Capacities

  • Designing grips to handle products at a high speed that are irregularly shaped and sensitive to getting damaged, including fruits and vegetables, eggs, pastries, sweets and snacks.
  • Adaptation of the grip design to the products they handle by using several technologies, such as soft robotics, SLS 3D manufacturing, infra-actuated mechanisms and granular fluid jamming.
  • Researching the implementation of grips for the tactile inspection of the products they are handling, by means of inertial sensors and spectrophotometer probes. The grips are able to determine the firmness and hardness of the products they are handling.