Drawing inspiration from the Central Automation Technology Center in Barcelona and specialized robotic integration knowledge centers (such as the one in Dortmund), Omron has established numerous innovation labs in recent years. These labs aim to become a key resource for both customers and the industry as a whole, providing concrete evidence of the viability of automation technology.

Omron's innovation lab in Madrid strengthens the local service and support the company provides to Omron Iberia customers. José Cabello, National Managing Director of Omron Iberia, explains: “For us, it is especially important to establish a close relationship with the food and beverage, automotive, and packaging sectors, as well as with mechanical and plant engineering in general. This involves testing all the elements together to verify whether the solution actually works in a practical environment and, if so, how it does so. At the end of this process, we typically carry out a proof of concept that can be practically applied to production.”.

Teamwork is key to developing automation solutions that can be tested before implementation on the machine or production line. "The customer can and should, therefore, get involved, test the robots, and apply them to their own real production needs," Cabello continues. To this end, Omron has built a complete automation environment at its Madrid facility for stakeholders who wish to test it. The system consists of the Sysmac automation platform, two robot cells with SCARA and six-axis robots, complemented by a mobile robot to demonstrate intralogistics processes.
The innovation lab in Madrid is expected to be operational in September with four employees as product engineers fully specialized in these solutions. Furthermore, in the coming months, the lab will be expanded with another PacXpert robot cell incorporating DELTA and inverted SCARA robots. "We want to use the new innovation lab to bridge theory and practice, making the interactions between the various technologies more tangible." "Thanks to a complete and harmonized package of hardware and software, handling and feeding technologies, and mobile and fixed robotics, we can achieve significant advances in many areas of factory automation," says Cabello.

“The opening of this innovation lab will offer customers greater value through innovation, providing higher quality, sustainable manufacturing from an efficiency point of view, and operational excellence,” commented José Baena, Marketing Manager at Omron Iberia.

The laboratory will also host seminars and workshops for clients and a more specialized technical support service.

Omron focuses primarily on the food and beverage, automotive, and electronics manufacturing sectors, but also offers comprehensive solutions for the pharmaceutical and consumer goods industries. The new Innovation Lab in Madrid is one of the latest additions to a customer-focused automation network across Europe, which already comprises eight locations. The company has already invested over six million euros in automation centers.