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At the height of the pandemic, meat processing plants experienced a devastating COVID-19 outbreak among workers. Even those plants that did not have an outbreak of infection still had to be closed. In a heavily hands-on work environment, there is no practical social distancing method.

Not surprisingly, factory managers turned to the robotics industry for help. There are many robots working in the food and beverage industry. The automation industry has found effective ways to flush equipment and track cargo to meet regulatory requirements. In these applications, moving goods are often standard in terms of size, weight, and texture. The robot can easily move a standard salad vegetable box. But meat?

Related: Tyson invests in food robotic bulk sorting and packaging technology

However, there is a will. Where automation is needed, innovative companies are ready to give it a try.

This video shows how a pork facility and a lamb facility can deploy robots to meet automation needs. Warning: The video is a graphic. We are talking about meat here.

Related: COVID-19 makes a mess of food plants. Can smart manufacturing clean it up?

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