human-robot collaboration (HRC) is still not very widespread in medium-sized companies. Better accessibility for new applications in robotics should help to meet the challenges in the use of collaborative robots. This is where the Fraunhofer Institute for Foundry, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV, in cooperation with the VDMA, comes in with the "Mittelstand 4.0" project: The joint guide published this spring offers future users a practical, transparent insight into successful MRK integration.
Despite its theoretical content, the guide answers all questions in a practical manner and the information has been prepared in a user-friendly way. "The guide incorporates the wealth of experience and expertise of more than 25 companies and institutions involved in the Robotics for SMEs expert network," says Christian Härdtlein, author and group leader of Engineering Adaptive Production Modules at Fraunhofer IGCV. "This means that even companies that have little or no experience with MRC have a clear and easy-to-understand flowchart at their fingertips."