Cobot instead of backbreaking work

Next-door at Volkswagen’s Transparent Factory, the TracePen developed by Dresden-based startup Wandelbots is already proving its worth in practice: When it comes to inspecting the engine compartment of the E-Golf – an action performed by a cobot –, precision takes top priority. And it is able to be achieved thanks to the wireless TracePen, which programmes the robot’s complex track to within a millimetre. ‘The TracePen is ideal for robot assignments and work stages that are often likely to change’, says Rene Wellenberg, robotics co-ordinator at the Transparent Factory, which has been using Wandelbots products alongside lightweight robots in electronics manufacturing since 2018.

The extent to which Volkswagen’s showcase factory in Dresden is advancing innovative robotics solutions is also illustrated by another application developed in Dresden: Robotic roofliner assembly – important progress for the health of staff members, whose backs have so far come under particular strain when fitting the vehicles’ interior trim. The process has now become much more ergonomic, with the preliminary work being performed by automated assistants. As such, the Transparent Factory is helping ensure collaborative robotics become a fixed part of everyday work in Industry 4.0 in future.