OAL secures £450k funding for robotics in food manufacturing
We’re delighted to announce that we have been awarded £448,850 to develop innovative APRIL™ robotics material handling systems for food manufacturers from Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency. The new project focuses on overcoming the well-documented productivity challenges food manufacturers face preparing ingredients. It will be led by engineers from OAL utilising the latest robotic and automation technologies.
The new one-year project, which is supported by a grant of £448,850 from the UK Government via Innovate UK and the EPSRC's Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) research fund, will focus on automating the processes of handling, weighing and transporting the raw ingredients. It will also make strides in developing key hygiene and food safety features which will be crucial when using robotic production systems within the food manufacturing sector. Researchers from the University of Lincoln will be supporting the project with work being undertaken at the National Centre for Food Manufacturing, Holbeach, UK.