The Scottish firm, Dewar’s, has implemented a novel quality control measure for its products: a robotic canine named Royal Barkla, developed by Boston Dynamics. This robot is purposed for patrolling the warehouses where their wooden whisky casks are stored.
Within Dewar’s storage facilities, which can house as many as 25,000 barrels, leakage presents a significant predicament that could result in substantial losses. Bacardi, the proprietor of the Dewar’s brand, sought assistance from the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland to devise an effective remedy. The proposed solution involved customizing the Spot robot dog from Boston Dynamics, equipping it with specialized gear for leak detection.
Leaks can manifest in two forms: direct spills and accelerated evaporation, commonly referred to as the “angel’s share.” While direct spills are readily apparent, the accelerated evaporation presents a greater monitoring hurdle. Issues arise when the evaporation rate surpasses expected levels, potentially indicating damage to the casks or changes within the wood itself. Given the vast scale of Dewar’s warehouses, manually inspecting barrels, which are stacked vertically and fill the entire space, becomes virtually unfeasible.
Royal Barkla is fitted with a 3D-printed arm incorporating an ethanol-sensitive sensor. The robot systematically traverses the warehouse, gauging the concentration of alcohol vapors to pinpoint potential escapes. Following successful trials on several casks, Royal Barkla was deployed in an active storage area, where it identified approximately 10% of the barrels requiring maintenance.
Nonetheless, the robot faces constraints: it cannot ascend vertically and is limited to scanning only the lower tiers of barrels, reaching a maximum elevation of roughly 1.5 meters. Despite these limitations, the trials demonstrated the method’s considerable success. The company is now contemplating the integration of supplementary technologies, such as spider-like robots capable of navigating across the barrels, as well as drones equipped with comparable sensing apparatus.
Bacardi already utilizes drones for inspections, and augmenting their capabilities represents a natural evolution of their current strategy aimed at streamlining manufacturing operations.
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