Ami Haketin, CEO of Innox Robotics, which deals in the field of autonomous robots and provides technological solutions to the business sector, both in the logistics front and at the meeting point with the end customer, is sure that in the coming years we will see more and more robots that will make work easier in companies, organizations and various businesses.
“The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reports that the list of robots for customer service in various fields – from the world of catering to a patient who is lying in bed and needs company and communication – increased by 17% during 2021 compared to 2020. This rose from a turnover of 6 billion dollars to 6.7 billion dollars “, he says.
“The global corona epidemic has created new opportunities and demand for robots that were under development – robots for cleaning, customer service, guidance and sales promotion – in order to create a minimum distance between people, avoid contact with food products as much as possible and overcome a labor shortage. Between 2019-2021 there was a worldwide An increase of about 92% in the use of robots for service and commercial cleaning. According to the data, the situation we are in today would only have happened in 2025, had it not been for the corona virus. The upward trend is maintained even in the post-corona era.”
Innox Robotics imports robots to Israel and adapts them to the specific needs of the market. “We started marketing the products at the end of 2018. We are in the sexiest world there is, everyone wants to touch technology,” says the minor. “Thanks to the Corona epidemic, people understand the added value that robots give when integrated into an organization. The phone doesn’t stop ringing. Suddenly organizations and companies understand the added value and are ready to go with the technologies combined with human capital.”
How much does it cost them?
“Our robots are sold using the method of operational leasing for periods of 24-36 months at a cost of NIS 1,500-8,000 per month – very much depends on the specific model, which robot it is and its role in the activity. Sometimes a company needs to buy several robots.”
Don’t stop cleaning
The minor explains: “Our two cleaning robots are completing three years of operation at Terminal 3 in Israel and clean an average of half a million square meters each month around the clock 24/7. They integrate with the cleaning teams and complete the missing link and also raise the level of cleanliness on the site. Robots These are also deployed in Shufersal network.Also, we promote robots for customer service.
“In the last six months, we have launched robots to direct crowds in general and to make them accessible to the disabled in shopping malls, medical institutions, museums, and more in particular. There are also robots for removing dishes that are in pilot in restaurant chains and cafes. In addition, we have launched robots that will be used for deliveries to the customer’s home or office.
“We are in a pilot in several hospitals in Israel to carry out deliveries within the hospitals between the various departments, in order to optimize the day-to-day operation and optimally utilize the human resource which is already at the limit. The robots also know how to move between floors and get from one point to another, according to the orders they receive.”
What is your expectation for the coming years?
“We predict that in 2030 robots will be a very significant part of our lives in every field, and in every organization several robots will operate – starting from the field of customer service, through the routine care and ending in the interface with the end customer. Our assessment is that the robots will not 100% replace the people, but will integrate in the day-to-day operations of the organization. There will be significant economic efficiency, and this will even help with the shortage of workers in the market. The robots will be an integral part of the landscape in the organization’s team. We will see pictures of the workers with robots next to them.”
Advance medicine
The robots enter different service areas. “For several years now in Israel you can see robots in pharmacies. About 20 robots from different companies are currently working in Israel in several hospitals and in one of the chains,” says Ofir Klein, CEO of BD Israel.
BD is an international medical technology company, with approximately 70,000 products – ranging from test tubes for taking blood to robots for dispensing drugs. BD’s robotic automation solutions are customized for each pharmacy, from private 60 square meters to a network of more than 120 square meters.
“BD Global,” says Klein, “currently has 11,000 installations of these robots around the world, the vast majority of them in private pharmacies and Pharm chains. The entry of our robots into Israel was about a month ago with the first installation at Hai Pharmacy in Ramla, and we have more orders on the way Our entry into Israel symbolizes the accessibility of robots also to private pharmacies in terms of technology, service and costs.”
What are the advantages of these robots?
“This system is basically an automatic warehouse that allows for maximum optimization of the utilization of the space. It also manages the inventory in a more efficient way. The structure of the robot makes it possible to store drugs in a very high density – up to 50% more drugs per linear meter compared to the standard situation – and then actually the areas allocated in the pharmacy for service Customers are growing. Space is not being wasted on storage areas. But the even more significant news is the inventory management: the robot knows how to issue the pack closest to expiration dates and knows how to warn if products are missing from the inventory. As a result, the destruction of expired drugs is significantly reduced.”
Klein adds: “The robot will deliver the medicine to the pharmacist within a few seconds. The dispensing time to the box is 8-12 seconds. The robot mainly empowers the role of the pharmacist. Instead of dealing with stock taking, physical dispensing of drugs and medication, the pharmacist does what he has learned: providing clinical explanations and advice to the customers. When we go to the pharmacy, we mainly see the back of the pharmacist. Thanks to the robot, we will see his face. This way, queues will also be significantly shortened.”
How much does this pleasure cost?
“The return on investment is very worthwhile due to better utilization of the areas and the reduction of stocks. It is certainly accessible to pharmacies in terms of price. The price depends on the dimensions of the robot, its functions and various add-ons. The price is customized for each pharmacy and starts at hundreds of thousands of shekels, with the return on investment being in a few years.”
Are pharmacies open to this idea?
“In the end, a private pharmacy is a business for everything. We found quite a few pharmacies and pharmacists who see the innovation before their eyes and are looking to optimize their business, and are definitely ready to make investments that will pay off for them in the end. We know that in the coming years both the health insurance funds and the pharmacy chains will be equipped with robots” .
From shopping to real estate
Buy online? Even in the various warehouses, robotic systems are already being used to pick up the orders. “For us, the main job is picking the goods,” says Tomer Spanier, VP of Operations and Supply Chain at the Terminal X site. In the traditional method, the worker would go and collect from the different shelves. The main role of the automation is that the shelves reach the worker.”
How does it actually work?
“The worker is at the picking position, he is actually static, and the robot brings him a chest with various items on it. Each chest contains about 40 items, and then the system tells him, for example, to pick shoes from this chest and socks from the other chest. Thus the worker at the position deals with several orders At the same time. At Terminal X we have been working with this system for almost two years, and each time we improve and upgrade it and more and more, we work with it in a smarter way.”
What are the main advantages of this?
“This improves the employee’s performance by three times what it was before. If an employee used to collect a maximum of 70 items per hour, then today he collects more than 200 items. Also, as the demand increases and the warehouse becomes larger, this maximizes the The productivity. It saves whole kilometers of walking a day and also helps us a lot to be fast in terms of getting to the customer. In order to get to the customer on time, the picking needs to be very fast. Working with the robots makes this possible.”
Another important point, according to Spanier, is the fact that this automation also facilitates the ability to recruit employees. “It is much easier to recruit an employee who stands in a stationary position than an employee who has to walk miles a day. Of course, you still need personnel to operate this process, it is simply much easier for him and it is much more efficient and accurate. There are also fewer mistakes with the customers,” he says.
“The traditional world of construction is based on manual labor. Technology comes to optimize existing traditional processes,” notes Ran Berman, one of the founders and CEO of the Beyon3D construction technology company, which deals in industrial robotics. The company was established in 2011 and developed robotic technology for the production of concrete components for the construction industry .
“In the world of construction, which is based a lot on manual labor, there are uncontrolled processes with very high depreciation, processes that have a safety problem, and more. Our technology comes to solve all these things,” he says. “Today, for example, a robotic arm does the application of the concrete and produces concrete components.
“The robot works very precisely and significantly reduces manual manpower, the depreciation is much lower and there is also the ability to produce very complex geometries. The robot improves processes. It is faster, more accurate, works in a controlled manner, in a safer manner. There is also the ability to produce elements according to Demand, sizes on demand, complex contours, textures.”
He adds: “Currently, at our plant in Haifa, we produce concrete elements for the construction industry intended for finishing purposes. In the future, we believe that we will be able to produce additional elements that are not necessarily for finishing purposes. The final customer is those contractors, entrepreneurs or companies that sell those elements intended for construction purposes, and this is not It does not matter if it is applied in a tower or in the renovation of a small apartment. From the raw material production process to the final product there is almost no human contact. Our technology also solves the problem of supplying, transporting and ordering such elements from abroad. We have a plan to establish another 25 factories around the world.”
“The production time,” Berman explains, “depends on the type of element – whether, for example, it is a larger or smaller element. For example, the application and production process of one concrete tile takes a few minutes. After that comes the drying process of the tile. The idea is that it is a complete process , starting from the material production stage to the final stage, from where the product is transferred to storage or transported to the construction site.”
Are the traditional methods in the construction industry going to disappear in the future?
“The world of construction is still very conservative and traditional, but little by little we are beginning to see that new technologies are being assimilated into this world in many processes. Today we mainly see robots for specific operations, such as lifting heavy elements. In the future, I believe we will be able to see robots not only in lifting heavy weights, but far beyond that “.