Thank You!

We have worked on many topics all together this year: „24/7 Autonomous Site Logistics“, „End-To-End-Packaging Supply“, “Robotics Application of the Year Award, „Teleoperation in restricted areas“ and in general, „Clean Room Transports“, „Standardizing flexible HPLC preparation”, amazing bilateral developments and great discussions on conferences and workshops. We would therefore like to thank all of our partners for their joint efforts in the pursuit of our common goal: ACCELERATING ROBOTICS IN OUR INDUSTRY

This year in particular, more topics were discussed and driven forward with us than in any previous year. Many believe that we can only overcome the challenges together and have worked with us to drive initiatives forward. We would like to mention a selection of these here:

After the successful AIRA Challenge 2022 (Advanced Industrial Robotic Applications (aira-challenge.com), together with BASF, BAYER, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck and Wacker, the partners involved discussed where the biggest gaps in today's automation are.

"Autonomous 24/7 site logistics" is one of them:
Because a full implementation will take years, we need a vision to guide future investments. Therefore we are investigating, together with global leaders in site logistics concepts and solutions, the feasibility of visions of future fully automated site-logistics. We see this as an opportunity for us to shape the future together, synchronizing our partners' solution development with our site development.

The primary driving force behind our collective efforts lies in the current state of automation technology. This technology, while incredibly powerful, faces two major hurdles: cost and complexity. In the majority of cases, automation is only justifiable for high-speed facilities due to these challenges. Even when it is suitable, the spatial requirements are often so substantial that implementation requires significant modifications.

We intend to publish a white paper early 2024 for those seeking streamlined automation solutions within the pharmaceutical packaging sector. Our goal is to make automation more accessible to smaller production lines while also reducing its spatial demands.

Many pharmaceutical companies and solution providers meet each other on a regular base within the ISPE-D/A/CH Special Interest Group Future Robotics. Together we want to accelerate the utilization of modern robotics within the pharmaceutical industry. In September 2023 (Presentation of the RAYA- Robotics Applications Award 2023 - ISPE D/A/CH (ispe-dach.org)) we hosted the second Robotic-Application-of-the-Year-Award (RAYA) to elect and promote the most attractive applications within pharmaceutical industry. Watch our for updates on that web-site – it will include the presentations of the presented applications soon.

Imagine a scenario in which robots - like the ones we saw in the final of the AIRA Challenge at ACHEMA 2022 - perform their autonomous routine. It's at night, at the weekend - only a few colleagues are working the night shift. Deep inside the labyrinth of pipes and corridors, there is an unexpected sensor message that requires their presence on site. Despite the robot's presence nearby, there is no other choice today: a colleague must interrupt their current task, go there and assess the situation.

As part of the AIRA Challenge 2024 (www.aira-challenge.com), the group of sponsors (BASF, Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Wacker) ask for the necessary extension to handle such a situation more elegantly: A teleoperator stationed in a control room takes command of the robot. Equipped with advanced sensors and a versatile robotic arm, the teleoperated robot is sent to the location to be inspected. Its task is to assess the situation under the direction and responsibility of the teleoperator and to rectify it if possible.

Within the ISPE-D/A/CH Special Interest Group Future Robotics and together with pharmaceutical companies and technology providers, we are evaluating which sterile filling functions are most attractive for teleoperation. The envisaged white paper also contains recommendations for the technology selection and design of such systems and a future outlook on how teleoperation could lead to significantly cheaper and more flexible sterile filling lines.

Within lab-automation the ISPE-D/A/CH Special Interest Group Future Robotics intends to publish a whitepaper to standardize the objects to be handled during the preparation of the HPLC process – especially the material interfaces in between Buffer Preparation/Sample preparation and the HPLC preparation (C/D in the picture), as well as the interface to the HPLC analyzer (F) equipment itself. Our intention is to enable the simplification and standardization of future automation with the clear target of cost reduction and plug&play.

2023 was an incredible year with great developments that our partners have driven forward with us. I would like to express my sincere thanks to all those who have contributed to these topics with impulses and discussions. I would like to invite everyone else to participate if any of these topics deserve your time and energy for your business.