To meet the demands of high-speed, reliable bin picking in pharmaceutical packaging, CapSen Robotics integrated its CapSen PiC™ vision software with a FANUC LR Mate 200iD robot and an Orbbec Astra 2 3D camera. This specific hardware and software configuration enables efficient bin picking of opaque plastic bottles using a single suction end-effector.

Using this configuration, the system demonstrated stable performance at 20 parts per minute, validating its ability to meet real-world production requirements while maintaining reliability and repeatability.

 

The Challenge: Fast, Reliable Picking in Cluttered Pharmaceutical Bins

Pharmaceutical bin picking presents a unique set of challenges: items are often densely packed, visually similar, and made of opaque materials. At the same time, applications demand high throughput, consistent accuracy, and stable operation suitable for regulated production environments.
To achieve industrial-grade performance, the system must combine reliable 3D perception, intelligent motion planning, and seamless robot control.

 

The Solution: CapSen PiC + Orbbec Astra 2 + FANUC LR Mate 200iD

CapSen Robotics built a complete bin-picking work cell by combining best-in-class hardware and software:

• Robot: FANUC LR Mate 200iD — a compact, 6-axis articulated robot designed for high-speed handling and precision tasks
• 3D Vision: Orbbec Astra 2 — a structured-light 3D camera delivering high-quality depth and RGB data
• Software: CapSen PiC — a flexible, programmable AI bin picking and motion planning platform
• End Effector: Single suction gripper optimized for pharmaceutical bottles

Together, the system enables fast detection, accurate grasp planning, and smooth execution—even in cluttered bins with small or tightly packed items.

 

Why Orbbec Astra 2

The Astra 2 plays a critical role in the performance and robustness of the solution by providing reliable depth data for real-time perception:

• Wide depth range (0.6–8 m)
• High-resolution depth and RGB at 30 fps
• Structured-light technology with custom ASIC
• Multi-camera synchronization support
• Developer-friendly SDK
  Simplifies integration with CapSen PiC and industrial robot controllers, helping users shorten commissioning time and scale deployments efficiently.

These capabilities allow CapSen PiC to generate accurate point clouds and reliable grasp candidates, even in challenging bin-picking scenarios.

 

CapSen PiC: Intelligent Software for Industrial Bin Picking

CapSen PiC provides a full-stack software solution that goes beyond object detection:

• Camera- and robot-agnostic design, compatible with any 2D or 3D camera and any robotic arm
• Programmable AI, combining advanced object detection with deterministic control for reliability
• Intelligent motion planning, enabling safe and precise manipulation, including regrasping and detangling
• Unified work-cell control, coordinating the robot arm, 3D cameras, and end effectors from a single platform
• User-friendly interface, supporting intuitive setup, part teaching, calibration, programming, and debugging

This flexibility makes CapSen PiC well-suited for pharmaceutical, manufacturing, and logistics automation.

 

Results and Impact

• High throughput: Demonstrated 20 picks per minute in the demo with a Fanuc Robot
• Stable and accurate picking: Reliable detection and grasping of opaque bottles in cluttered bins
• Fast deployment: Plug-and-play integration reduces engineering time and accelerates time to production
• Scalable architecture: Easily adaptable to different products, bins, and robot configurations

 

Customer Quote

“By combining CapSen PiC with Orbbec Astra 2 and FANUC LR Mate, we achieved fast, reliable bin picking without sacrificing precision. The depth quality and SDK support from Orbbec allow us to deploy scalable solutions for real industrial environments.”
— Dr. Jared Glover, CEO, CapSen Robotics

 

About CapSen Robotics

CapSen Robotics is a U.S.-based robotics software company, specializing in advanced vision-based bin picking and robotic automation solutions. Its flagship software, CapSen PiC, enables flexible, AI-driven perception and intelligent motion planning across a wide range of industrial applications, including pharmaceutical, manufacturing, and logistics automation.