German Robotics Association founded

Now it's official, the networking platform for SMEs with automation ambitions, launches at the beginning of the new year. People who have communicated their interest in membership via this blog or do so will be named to the board. Go directly to membership via this link. Below is the press release:

Nuremberg/Birkenfeld - In October 2020, the German Robotics Association was founded in Nuremberg. The aim of the association is to promote the use of robot technology, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises. The first chairman of the association is Helmut Schmid. His two deputies are Olaf Gehrels and Christoph Ryll.

In addition to their enthusiasm for automation technology in general, the founders are primarily motivated by the idea of keeping Germany and Europe attractive as a business location and making them fit for the future through the use of simple robot solutions.

Helmut Schmid, who built up the important German subsidiary of the cobot world market leader Universal Robots and headed the Western and Northern Europe region until July 2020: "The heart of German industry is small companies, many of which are ready to secure their future and that of the location with the help of robots." Customized production, batch size 1 and short lead times are already commonplace for these companies with 10, 20 or 30 employees today, but are becoming increasingly difficult to sustain with the growing shortage of skilled workers. The most promising approach is therefore the use of industrial robots of various kinds, and here especially innovative technologies such as lightweight robots and cobots.

The experience of the association's founders shows: small companies, craft businesses and SMEs need above all simple solutions that can be implemented quickly and ensure a fast ROI. Olaf Gehrels, spokesman for the association and former Germany and Europe head of the robot world market leader Fanuc has extensive knowledge of the industry and decades of experience with classic industrial robots, definitely sees a trend towards do-it-yourself: "The keyword is 'do-it-yourself' as a fast and inexpensive way of implementation. This is certainly a phenomenon that we as an association want to pick up on and bring into focus."

If you follow a few basic rules, implementing robots on your own is not that difficult - even if the advice of an expert on topics such as certification and safety aspects is appropriate. That expert in the association is Christoph Ryll, who is considered one of Germany's leading experts on safety issues related to robotics. As a safety consultant and certified expert in the field of machine safety and for robots and handling systems in the Federal Association of German Experts and Expert Witnesses, Christoph Ryll has supported numerous SMEs over the past 15 years in all matters relating to the normative and machine directive-compliant design of robots and robot systems, including stations at Pilz in Austria and in Germany. "Already in 2010, I put humans safely next to robots because collaboration/cooperation is natural for me. I focus on opportunities in this innovative technology."

With its foundation, the association confirms the idea of Industry 5.0, which has already been disseminated in various publications and which - in short - is intended to strengthen the collaborative interaction of man and machine in intelligent manufacturing environments(see Elektronikpraxis, Vogel). Among other things, it states: "Industry 5.0 brings people back into manufacturing." What is meant here for large companies, the initiative of the German Robotics Association reverses and brings simple but effective robotics into existing production.

Neutral advice is an essential part of the association's self-image. The website "robotikverband.de", which provides an overview of the current focal points, is intended to contribute to this. A "natural agility" is brought by the young companies and startups that are among the founding members. Gehrels, himself a "young entrepreneur" on the association's self-image: "Young companies have to react flexibly to changing situations. In that respect, SMEs and startups are alike." This agility will be needed and used beneficially in the implementation of the goals. If there are new initiatives to popularize robotics, they will seek contact and connect in the network. The impact of new ideas should not fail due to a lack of funding. Schmid: "To this end, we have experts on board explicitly for our members in the area of promoting innovative projects."

Manufacturers and users are expressly encouraged to become members in order to make experience from the operator's point of view usable within the network. Schmid: "The size of the company does not play a role, only the interest to proactively contribute to the network." In addition to manufacturers, experts and consultants, the first users have already expressed an interest in becoming members.

The DRV Board of Directors from left: Christoph Ryll, Helmut Schmid, Olaf Gehrels

 

The Board of Directors:

Helmut Schmid (Chairman)

Olaf Gehrels (Deputy and Spokesman)

Christoph Ryll (Deputy)

The departments and their responsible contact persons in detail

• Application technology: Werner Hampel / robtec.de and Michael Lehner / ml-robotik.de
• Research coordination and funded projects: Prof. Dr. Matthias Vette-Steinkamp / hochschule-trier.de
• Legal requirements, standardization and safety on the manufacturer and operator side: Christoph Ryll / robotics-consulting.de and Michael Probst / mp-consulting.de
• Investment promotion and corporate financing: Guido Bruch / mrk-blog.de
• School education and extracurricular training: Werner Hampel /robtec.de and Prof. Dr. Matthias Vette-Steinkamp / hochschule-trier.de
• Software Platform, Technology Radar "Smart Robotics for All", Robot Cluster: Christian Piechnick / Wandelbots.com and Tobias Rietzler / robominds.de

German Robotics Association: Who are we?

The founding members are robot and component manufacturers, smart robotics, software companies, system integrators, safety experts, university professors, networkers and influencers with long and extensive practical experience in the successful application of industrial and collaborative (MRK) robotics.

The purpose of the association is to promote the manufacture and use of robot technology in Germany and to

thereby strengthen the know-how and competitiveness of the members. By joining forces, a strong and influential network for information and cooperation is to be developed with the members of DRV.

 

Press contact:
Helmut Schmid (helmut.schmid@robotikverband.de) Olaf Gehrels (olaf.gehrels@robotikverband.de)   German Robotics Association e.V. c/o Trier University of Applied Sciences Environmental Campus Birkenfeld Campus Avenue   55768 Hoppstätten-Weiersbach   www.robotikverband.de	Bernhard Foitzik Editorial office Maconring 34 D-67434 Neustadt a. d. Weinstrasse Tel.: +49 (0) 6321 3995528