There is a type of work that exists in almost every factory: repetitive, precise, continuous. Take a piece from here, put it there. Thousands of times a day, every day. It is pick & place, and for years it has been done by hand, with operators dedicated exclusively to this task.
Today, it no longer makes sense to do it this way. Not because operators are incapable, but because there are robotic systems that do it better, faster and without ever getting tired. And freeing people from these activities means being able to employ them where they really make a difference.
What is it, specifically?
Pick & place is exactly what the name suggests: picking up a product from one point and placing it in another. It sounds simple, but behind it lies considerable technical complexity, especially when working with delicate products, variable formats or high quality standards.
Sectors such as food & beverage, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and automotive use these solutions on a daily basis for packaging, assembly and quality control. The challenge is not only speed, but also consistent precision, cycle after cycle, without variation.
When artificial vision comes into play
A concrete example is what we have created for the medical sector: a robotic system with artificial vision for the collection, quality control and positioning of medical sponges. The robot identifies each product, assesses whether it complies with standards (size, integrity, absence of defects) and automatically discards those that do not meet specifications.
The result? Zero selection errors, consistent speed, complete traceability. No operators getting tired after hours of repetitive work, no drop in attention during the afternoon shift.
Why it’s worth the investment
The question we are asked most often is: how long does it take to amortise the system? The answer depends on the context, but generally sooner than you might think. When you add up the costs of dedicated personnel, errors, waste and downtime, the picture changes rapidly.
But there is a value that goes beyond numbers: the ability to scale up production without having to proportionally increase staff. A well-designed robotic system grows with you.
Every pick & place system we build starts with a specific analysis of the process, because no two production lines are identical and it makes no sense to offer off-the-shelf solutions. If you have a repetitive process that you would like to optimise, let’s talk about it.