Meat+Poultry - October 2022 - 25

" So, is there a way to marry the manual
labor of the robot with the decision making of
a person? And our answer for that is to have
this shared collaborative environment within
the virtual world where the human and the
robot can share information very naturally,
and the person can then direct the robot and
tell it where to pick up a bird using the suction
gripper, " Ahlin said.
One of the benefits of this concept that has
been proven in the lab is that the task can be
completed remotely, with the human-based
decision-making being done in one location
to direct the robotic arm to hang a chicken
carcass on a cone like those used in a poultry
plant cut-up line.
" You don't need to be in the same physical
location, you just need to have an internet
connection, " Ahlin said.
However, utilizing this technology is still in
the research phase and likely years away from
widespread implementation in plants. In the
meantime, Ahlin is confident that progress will
be made.
" I am very optimistic that in 10 years, the
poultry processing in particular will look vastly
different than it does today in terms of how
much automation will take place, " he said.
" I don't think the poultry industry needs
to advance to some mythical level to be good
enough for robotics, " Ahlin said. " I very much
feel that robotics needs to advance to meet the
challenges seen within the poultry industry.
And robotics just recently has gotten to a level
where it can start to address those challenges. "
RED MEAT AND ROBOTS
When it comes to meat processing and
automation, Chafik Barbar, chief executive
officer of Marble Technologies, has gone all-in on
the opportunities. He founded the Cambridge,
Mass.-based company at the height of the
COVID-19 pandemic after realizing the potential
solutions automation hardware and software
could deliver to the country's plants that were
reeling from the backlash of the virus. His
company was founded on the basis that most
processors are forced to operate with about 20%
fewer workers than they need. Marble creates
the software 'brains' for hardware to automate
processing tasks using artificial intelligence to
deliver automated solutions that can adapt to
the variation in beef and pork products.
Growing up in Nebraska and a graduate
of the University of Nebraska, Barbar has a
background in agriculture and food technology.
As a software developer, he co-founded
GrainBridge in 2009, an Omaha-based start-up
that provided financial risk management for
crop and livestock producers. That company
was acquired by ADM and Cargill in about
2018. He then moved to Massachusetts and
earned an MBA from MIT Sloan School of
Management and was determined to get back
into food technology again, despite graduating
during the pandemic.
He soon learned that one of the biggest
post-COVID pain points in the meat industry
was the labor shortage and began building a
team of professionals who understand meat
processing with technology experts that solved
similar challenges in other industries.
" I'm trying to mash up meat science with
other disciplines, " Barbar said.
He said that while many in the industry
would criticize it for being slow to adopt
automation, the argument could be made that
there is an advantage to being a late bloomer.
All eyes, it seems, are on the meat industry, due
in part to COVID-19, consumer interest in food
sourcing and global initiatives related to animal
welfare, sustainability and consolidation
concerns. Barbar added that the time is right
for automation in the meat industry. He said
the technology has been proven in other
industries and is not only more affordable than
in years past, but it is also evolving to address
the variability issues inherent in automating
meat-processing using more sophisticated
learning software and artificial intelligence. He
also pointed out that the labor pool for jobs in
automation is attracting more candidates to the
food industry from other industries given the
level of software and hardware development
and engineering skills required.
He said the need for solutions in this
segment is understood by engineers and they
aren't deterred by working in what was once
considered a less-than-glamourous industry.
" People understand what this is; they really
get it and I'm not having to explain the problem
I'm solving, " he said.
He added that fortunately for automation
companies like Marble, the industry's largest
players have budgeted tens of millions
of dollars each year that are earmarked
www.meatpoultry.com | 10.22 | MEAT+POULTRY 25
We need to look
at staffing and
availability of
labor, the cost of
labor, but also
making jobs
easier, more
precise and
really allowing
control systems
to run them
versus people
running
processes. "
- GREGG UECKER
http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat+Poultry - October 2022

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