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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/R63752/01
Title: JREI: Robotics and Intelligent Automation in Food Manufacturing
Principal Investigator: Caldwell, Professor DG
Other Investigators:
Taylor, Professor E Gray, Professor J
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
RTS Advanced Robotics Ltd
Department: Informatics Research Institute
Organisation: University of Salford
Scheme: JREI
Starts: 18 September 2002 Ends: 17 December 2005 Value (£): 193,875
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Robotics & Autonomy
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Food and Drink Retail
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
The Food industry is the largest manufacturing sector in the UK, (annual turnover 60 billion) employing in excess of 500,000 people in all aspects of the food manufacturing chain from farm production through to the customer.Within this sector the industry operates in a highly competitive and increasingly global market where short product lead times are essential, product life cycles are short and margins are low. Flexibility and efficiency are currently provided by operator adaptability. The need for rapid response to customer demand, and the increasing hygiene, quality and traceability pressures, together with a shortage of skilled personnel, have highlighted an urgent need for effective use of automation and robotics. All this is in an environment where feed-stocks are natural and variable, supply and demand are seasonal and regional and where 90% of production equipment is currently imported. This sector has been identified by the DTI as a major growth area for the application of automation systems with the aims ofimproving productionefficiency, enhancing hygiene standards, improving working conditions, impacting on yield margins and profitability, and conforming to existing and future UK and EU legislation pertaining to food automation.
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Organisation Website: http://www.salford.ac.uk