The 2021 “Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Robotics & Automation” (Iera) goes to “Pixelpaint” technology of ABB. Two high-precision robots make car painting faster, more sustainable and flexible – helping manufacturers to efficiently respond to individual demands. Two-tone and customized designs are applied in one pass. The technology eliminates overspray benefitting the environment.

In the past, 20 to 30 percent of paint was wasted due to overspray. By contrast, the inkjet head of “Pixelpaint” applies 100 percent of the paint to the vehicle surface – improving environmental impact. The technology also significantly increases efficiency in car painting. Previously, applying a two-tone or customized design was a time and labour-intensive process. The vehicle had to be put through the painting line twice. With the new technology, customized painting speeds increased by 50 percent. “Pixelpaint” also eliminates the process of masking and de-masking each car, helping to reduce bottlenecks.

“In today’s fiercely competitive automotive manufacturing market, vehicle producers need solutions that can help them to improve their flexibility, efficiency and cost competitiveness while delivering a high-quality paint finish, including individualized options to meet the growing demand for non-standard and customized designs,” said Joerg Reger, Managing Director of ABB Robotics Auto OEM Business Line.

“I congratulate ABB on winning the ,Iera award’ 2021 against strong competition,” said Milton Guerry, President of the IFR. “The four finalists have all presented a success story of an innovative product in robotics and automation which combine the needs of today’s manufacturers with a high degree of user-friendliness.”

Barcelona-based Infaimon presented its “Inpicker” – a universal pick and place system for industrial applications. Berlin-based Micropsi Industries took part with its “Mirai” software – an AI-driven control system that enables industrial robots to deal with variance in production. Mobile Industrial Robots from Odense in Denmark presented the “MiR250”, a user-friendly mobile robot that optimizes material handling workflows across industries.

The “Iera Award” highlights and honors the achievements of innovators with value creating ideas and entrepreneurs who propel those ideas into world-class products. The IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE/RAS) and the IFR jointly sponsor the award – underlining their determination to promote stronger collaboration between science and industry in robotics.