“Our booth served as a meeting place both for existing customers looking to learn about our innovations and for valuable new contacts specifically interested in automated solutions for secure automated material flow and vision solutions,” says Stefan Becker, authorized signatory and sector manager in the Automation Projects Business Unit at Eckelmann, summarizing the company’s successful appearance at LogiMAT.
More than 65,000 trade visitors attended LogiMAT, which took place in the fully booked exhibition halls in Stuttgart with over 1,600 exhibitors. The focus was on AI-powered automation solutions that accelerate logistics processes and eliminate sources of error.
Eckelmann’s trade show presence thus struck a chord with the times: The vision solutions in the FactoryWare portfolio use control and image processing systems to manage individual machines or entire production lines and are customized to each customer’s specific products, processes, and application areas. The complex system development of vision products and software takes place in-house at Eckelmann. The software is capable of recognizing any product design and characteristics and is seamlessly integrated into demanding environments. In addition to classic image processing algorithms, AI modules are also available for this purpose, which can highly efficiently draw all necessary conclusions, document them, and transmit them to customer interfaces.
At LogiMAT, the team presented solutions for the secure flow of goods across all areas of intralogistics: efficient counting, inspection, and tracking for the bulk processing of all types of products. With Easter approaching, Easter eggs were inspected live for damage.
Specialists from the Eckelmann Vision AI team were on hand to answer questions: the innovation unit based at the Eckelmann Group’s headquarters in Wiesbaden that develops exclusively AI-powered vision solutions.
The product trio, which can be used both individually and in combination, was constantly surrounded by visitors. As part of this portfolio, the E°CD Series (Counting & Detection) handles the precise image recognition of reusable load carriers. Pallet types and containers (reusable and disposable), as well as any other objects, were inspected in real time using pairs of columns equipped with camera technology and image recognition. In everyday logistics operations, the E°CD detects various pallets, for example, those carrying sacks, cartons, or containers with food items such as fish, meat, baked goods, eggs, and vegetables, as well as wooden and glass panels or bricks. At the same time, defects in pallet blocks can also be detected.
The compact size of the gate is designed to fit standard truck gate widths and can be installed at truck gates in both the incoming and outgoing goods areas.
Whether it’s foreign objects in IV bags or defects in Easter eggs: During the trade show, the E°CI Series (Counting & Inspection) automatically sorted out defective or contaminated containers. At LogiMAT, the E°CI system detected defects in real time while simultaneously demonstrating the enormous range and capabilities for inspecting products from industries that could not be more diverse.
Depending on the task at hand, each system in the E°CI Series and its vision components are adapted to the individual customer application and the goods to be inspected.
The inspection device can be integrated into existing conveyor systems in a space-saving manner without interfering with their control systems. The E°CI makes continuous decisions at extremely high speeds and sends signals for post-processing to the higher-level conveyor control system, for example, to divert or forward goods to picking stations.
Integrated with the E°CI, the E°CT Series (Counting & Tracking) handled tracking, tracing, and documentation for digital traceability as part of the trade show presentation. A modular solution for demanding production environments. The system captures 1D or 2D codes even when there is no space between rapidly moving objects. With numerous inquiries and concrete on-site invitations from new contacts in hand, the team looks back on a successful trade show, confirming that LogiMAT lived up to its reputation as an industry gathering and leading international intralogistics trade fair.