Inside Hahn Group’s plan to revive Rethink Robotics

The Hahn Group scooped up the IP and trademarks for the Sawyer collaborative robot and Intera software less than one month after Rethink Robotics Inc. shut down in October 2018. The German automation and robotics specialist, which has 30-plus years of automation experience, recently gave The Robot Report an exclusive look at how it plans to revitalize the Sawyer brand around the world.

Hahn Robotics, part of the robotics division of the HAHN Group and the largest global distributor of Sawyer, knows the cobot inside and out, including its strengths and weaknesses. In January 2019, Philipp Unterhalt was appointed managing director of the Hahn Group. He has been interim CEO of Rethink Robotics GmbH since November 2018. While he did not mention specific timelines, Unterhalt outlined the company’s three-step plan:

• 1. Refurbish Rethink Robotics’ inventory of Sawyer robots and the 2400 units in the field.
• 2. Develop a new and improved Sawyer cobot with “less noise, higher speed and better accuracy.”
• 3. Develop a family of Rethink robots with varying payloads and reaches to meet market demands.

Let’s delve into each of the aforementioned steps.

Get the full story on our WTWH Media sister site The Robot Report.