At Bakery China 2026 in Shanghai, SRT and Niu Shi Yun Chang jointly unveiled a three-robot AI vision packaging solution designed to help bakery manufacturers improve efficiency, reduce labor dependency, and handle delicate products with greater consistency.
Presented at Booth 72B61 in Hall 7.2, the system combines AI vision technology with soft robotic gripping to automate the full packaging workflow — from product feeding and positioning to dynamic picking and carton loading.
Addressing Long-Standing Challenges in Bakery Automation
Despite growing automation demand in the bakery sector, many manufacturers still face major operational challenges during sorting and packaging processes. Fragile products are easily damaged by rigid grippers, labor-intensive cold-room operations remain difficult to staff, and frequent SKU changes often require lengthy machine adjustments and downtime.
Traditional automation systems also tend to occupy large production footprints while creating additional cleaning and maintenance complexity.
The newly introduced solution was developed specifically to address these issues through a more flexible and scalable automation architecture.
AI Vision + Soft Robotics for High-Mix Production
The packaging line integrates three high-speed delta robots equipped with SRT’s biomimetic soft robotic grippers. Powered by real-time AI vision guidance, the system can dynamically identify incoming products and perform continuous high-speed picking without interrupting production flow.
The soft grippers are manufactured using food-grade flexible materials and feature an integrated pneumatic design. The system has passed international food safety standards including FDA-related compliance requirements, helping manufacturers reduce contamination risks while simplifying sanitation procedures.
A dual AI vision system simultaneously identifies tray positions and detects product orientation, allowing the line to adapt automatically to different bakery products without changing tooling or grippers.
This flexibility makes the system particularly suitable for high-mix, small-batch production environments increasingly common in modern bakery manufacturing.
Higher Throughput with Lower Labor Dependency
According to previous deployment data shared by the companies, a single production line can reduce manual packaging labor by 3–5 operators while achieving dynamic picking speeds of up to 150 PPM (products per minute).
The compact system layout allows manufacturers to integrate the solution into existing production lines with minimal modification to factory infrastructure. The companies estimate that labor costs on a single line can be reduced by more than 50% annually, while significantly improving overall production efficiency.
Rather than positioning intelligent manufacturing as a high-cost transformation project, SRT and Niu Shi Yun Chang aim to provide a phased and financially accessible automation pathway for bakery manufacturers of different sizes.
Moving Toward Smarter and More Flexible Food Manufacturing
As bakery manufacturers continue accelerating digital transformation and smart factory upgrades, flexible automation is becoming increasingly important for handling product diversity, labor shortages, food safety requirements, and efficiency targets simultaneously.
Through the integration of AI vision and soft robotics, SRT is focusing on turning flexible manufacturing concepts into scalable real-world production systems that support cleaner, more efficient, and more adaptable food production environments.
Live demonstrations of the AI-powered bakery packaging line will continue throughout Bakery China 2026 at Booth 72B61 until May 23. Technical teams from both companies are available onsite to discuss flexible automation solutions and smart production upgrades for bakery manufacturers.