Bosch Rexroth France joins forces with Belgian company Arkite to develop the connected workstation of the future
Thanks to its cutting-edge technologies, Bosch Rexroth supports all companies in their industrial challenges. Its strength: simplifying the transformation of production systems to increase productivity and efficiency. In this context, Bosch Rexroth France is collaborating with the Belgian company Arkite, which specializes in the development of augmented reality software.
This partnership aims to develop and promote manual assembly station solutions optimized by a connected operator guidance system. This innovative technology meets a need expressed by French manufacturers: to assist the operator in his tasks without replacing him.
A Man-Machine alliance that illustrates Industry 4.0 and combines quality of life at work and value creation.
A business cooperation and technical solution for Industry 4.0
This new collaboration is the result of a common desire on the part of a large group with years of expertise in industrial production, and an agile company to join forces to meet a very specific need of the French market. Bosch Rexroth is adding Arkite’s Human Interface Mate (HIM) solution to its manual workstations. The connected integration makes the operator feel safe and guides him in his daily tasks.
This collaboration illustrates the way Bosch Rexroth France is showing its commitment to providing concrete solutions to its customers’ needs. It also enables the company to expand the 4.0 product portfolio of its Assembly Technology Business Unit and for Arkite to boost its commercial development in France.
“We are delighted to establish a collaboration with Bosch Rexroth France and their professional local team. Our mutual solution will allow an optimal integration of the Human Interface Mate into Bosch Rexroth France’s range of products and solutions for an ergonomic, integrated and digitalized workstation. This is an important milestone in expanding our presence in the French market.”
Johan Smeyers, CEO of Arkite
“There is a strong link between ergonomics and Industry 4.0. This solution allows companies to adopt this proactive approach to ergonomics by focusing on the human being. Many benefits come from the Human-Machine alliance: mental and physical well-being of operators, safety, quality and performance. Ergonomics existed before digitalization, but thanks to digitalization, it is taking a decisive leap forward, making the workplace more flexible, intelligent and interactive.”
Franck Papon, business development manager at Bosch Rexroth France
A complete solution that supports the operator in his daily work
Bosch Rexroth is revolutionizing the manual workstation through the digitalization of assembly techniques. Tomorrow’s industry is based on the complementarity between man and machine, which is perfectly illustrated by this ergonomic approach to error-free and stress-free production.
The connected workstation has the important features below:
· A modular design:
The Rexroth mounting system is adjustable, flexible and ergonomic. It can be adapted to any application thanks to the modular design of the software and hardware that links the real and virtual worlds. The employee is guided through the individual assembly steps by means of freely configurable sensors and assistants. Both the details of the instructions and the workstation can be adapted individually within a short time, thus ensuring high process reliability and reducing the workload for the operator.
· A connected and interactive solution:
The assistance system allows to identify the part to be assembled through connected technologies, RFID, barcode scanner,.. and loads the corresponding work process via a connection with the global ERP and MES system. The operator is then guided via augmented reality instructions. The projectors will display the work instructions, specify the work areas, or the picking bins with the help of light projections (called pick-to-light), thus guiding the user step by step through the assembly process. The 3D cameras allow recognition of the different shapes and ensure constant monitoring of the manufacturing process and the user’s gestures.
Bosch Rexroth goes even further by allowing everyone to discover this solution at work in its original environment through a virtual visit, an immersive experience in the heart of the Bosch Rexroth factory, symbol of the industry of tomorrow.
+ About Arkite
Arkite is a Belgian company specialized in the development of augmented reality software. It has developed the Human Interface Mate (HIM), a state-of-the-art operator guidance system. The HIM provides real-time digital instructions on the workstation via augmented reality, and automatically validates manual operations. The goal is to avoid errors and thus optimize industrial performance.
To learn more about Arkite, please visit our website.
+ About Bosch Rexroth
Bosch Rexroth is one of the world’s leading specialists in the field of drive and control technology, putting machines and systems of all sizes into motion efficiently, powerfully and safely. The company has global expertise in mobile applications, automation, engineering and industrial equipment. With its intelligent components and tailored services and solutions, Bosch Rexroth creates the environment for fully connected applications. Bosch Rexroth offers hydraulic, electric drive and control, actuator, linear motion and assembly technologies, including software and interfaces to the Internet of Things. Operating in more than 80 countries with 29,600 employees, Bosch Rexroth generated a revenue of €5.2 billion in 2020. If you would like to learn more, please visit www.boschrexroth.fr
