igus starts the application phase for the 3rd ROIBOT Award 2024
Cologne, January 8, 2024 – The German economy is weakening and will only recover slowly in 2024, according to the Institute for Macroeconomics and Economic Research (IMK). Mechanical engineering is also feeling this. In order to strengthen your own competitiveness, there is no way around automation. Thanks to low-cost automation (LCA) and the RBTX robotics marketplace from igus, companies of all sizes can find a complete solution that fits their requirements and budget – starting at just 2,000 euros. The plastics company is now honoring the projects with the fastest return on investment (ROI) with the ROIBOT Award for the third time. Users can apply now and win low-cost automation products worth 5,000 euros as well as international recognition.
In times of economic weakness, both corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are looking for cost-effective and easy-to-implement automation solutions. igus serves exactly this need with low-cost automation. The Cologne-based plastics specialist has everything anyone interested in cost-effective process automation needs from a single source: from individual components to robots with peripherals to complete solutions for individual applications. The average investment costs here are 12,000 euros. For comparison: an industrial robot, including controls, software and licenses, quickly costs over 100,000 euros. “We are always amazed at how imaginatively companies use our components. From the automated earthworm farm to the robot that serves beer,” says Alexander Mühlens, head of the low-cost automation division at igus. But many of these inventions receive too little attention. “That is why, with the ROIBOT Award 2024, we are offering a stage for LCA projects that demonstrate courage, creativity and out-of-the-box thinking for the third time.” igus organizes the competition with an international focus every two years. In 2022, 110 projects from 20 countries applied.
The starting signal for the application phase is given.
Users can apply for the ROIBOT Award with their automation projects until June 30, 2024 – at www.igus.de/roibot-anmelde. igus offers support upon request. A team of experts creates video and image recordings of the application free of charge and oversees the staging. Participants skip the application process and are directly candidates for the competition. The prerequisite is that the LCA solutions work with components that were purchased from igus or via RBTX.com. These include, for example, articulated arm robots, Cartesian robots, delta robots and Scara robots.
Low-cost automation products worth 5,000 euros and gain international attention.
A jury made up of representatives from the trade press and industry experts selects the three best projects that are characterized by originality and a low return on investment. The winner will receive low-cost automation hardware worth 5,000 euros, the second and third place winners will receive 2,500 euros and 1,000 euros. “The competition also offers participants international media attention and the opportunity to network with other automation enthusiasts, exchange experiences, gain inspiration and perhaps even explore new career opportunities. For example, investors were found for a young start-up at the last ROIBOT Award,” concluded Mühlens. The winner of the ROIBOT Award 2022 also benefited from this: MFG Technik & Service GmbH. The company from Kranzberg near Munich impressed the jury with the Monkey label, a low-cost automation solution that labels industrial pallets from three sides using the robolink DP robot arm from igus.