Gentle pick-and-place of fragile assorted chocolates into assortment box cavities

In confectionery gift/assortment packing (e.g. Cadbury Roses, Heroes, boxed pralines), individual chocolates of varying shape, size and coating must be picked from a conveyor or in-feed and placed precisely into the correct cavity of a tray or box, often building a defined mix per container. The objects are delicate: thin chocolate shells crack, soft fillings deform, and surfaces smudge or bloom under excessive grip force or warmth. The task sits at the end of the production line feeding final cartoning, and Mondelēz already runs a vision-guided robotic version of this at Bournville to verify the correct count/variety per box. What makes it hard for a robot is combining gentle, slip-aware grasping of irregular, fragile items with accurate seating into shallow cavities, while keeping pace with high line speeds and frequent product changeovers across many SKUs. Volumes are very high and seasonal (Easter/Christmas peaks), and presentation quality directly affects a premium gifting product. We identified this through our own research; we have not confirmed the specifics with the customer directly. This page is our researched read — a starting point for that conversation.