Robotics: an acquired taste?

UK food and drink companies are the focus of a major survey of attitudes to automation, according to Manchester-based RTS Flexible Systems, which is sponsoring the survey.

The survey called "Appetite for Automation" is being conducted in association with the British Automation and Robotics Association, Food Processing Faraday Partnership and the North West Food Alliance.

The survey will be carried out by market research firm IAS Marketing and Communication during the early 2006. The research will be conducted through interviews with senior engineers, production and project managers across a range of food and packaging applications.

Despite being the UK¹s largest manufacturing sector, the Food & Drink industry invests comparatively little in automation and robotics compared to its counterparts elsewhere, said David Bradford, managing director of RTS -- a supplier of product handling and packaging systems to the food industry.

"Our aim is to investigate this apparent paradox by gaining a better understanding of the industry¹s experiences of both the benefits and risks associated with automation," explains Bradford.