Igus has added a new AI chatbot to the online platform RBTX.com. The interactive consultant is designed to enable companies with little previous experience and technological expertise to quickly and reliably put together Low Cost Automation (LCA) solutions to become more competitive. First users are enthusiastic about the intuitive AI solution.

A lot of companies already know that automation offers enormous potential for meeting the challenges of a rapidly changing working world. However, the crucial question remains: how do you implement them? RBTX provides the answer: there are over 500 robot solutions on the online marketplace, 95% of which cost less than €12,000. Even companies with no prior knowledge of robotics can put together cost-effective LCA solutions according to the plug-and-program principle. "With RBTX, we want to eliminate all the barriers that stand in the way of companies entering the world of automation - step by step," says Alexander Mühlens, Vice President and Head- Low Cost Automation, igus. The decisive factor here, for example, is to ensure guaranteed interoperability of all the components we offer, which makes it virtually impossible to make the wrong purchase. "A further step in this direction is the introduction of a new AI advisor that interacts with interested parties to reduce the time they spend searching for components in a range that keeps on growing."

The new AI chatbot at https://chat.rbtx.eu supports users in finding suitable LCA components through written interaction. The AI draws on empirical data from hundreds of projects that companies have already successfully automated with the help of RBTX. The answers are correspondingly targeted. An example: a small workshop is suffering from a labour shortage and would like to automate the loading of its CNC machine with blanks. The company's technical manager calls up the new AI chatbot and asks it the following question: "Which robot is suitable for loading my CNC machine?" Within a few seconds, the AI provides the answer: "The robolink robot arm from igus would be a suitable solution here. The arm moves along five axes, has a reach of 790mm, a speed of seven picks per minute and can detect the position of the components using a 3D camera. The price starts at €2,766" (price may vary by country). After this answer, the user asks which gripper would work. The AI consultant replies: "A parallel gripper from Zimmer would be a suitable choice." In this kind of seemingly natural dialogue, users gradually put together their own individual LCA solution.

Companies experimenting with automation are enthusiastic about the new AI chatbot. "A wide range of customers have already given us feedback that they have entered into a dialogue with the AI robot advisor. It has given them a better feel for the possibilities of LCA and significantly accelerated the search for suitable components," says Mühlens. "We are therefore planning to expand the AI advisor with additional functions in future." For example, it should be possible for the advisor to embed images and video material from references in its answers and develop complete LCA solutions with a target price.