By
Sara Pearson Specter
April 3, 2017
Get news, papers, media and research delivered. Sign up for our free newsletters.
Stay up-to-date with news and resources you need to do your job. Research industry trends, compare companies and get weekly market intelligence with Robotics 24/7.
A pocket sorter integrated with vision-system guided robotic picking and a streamlined conveyor system were showcased by Kevin Reader, director of business development and marketing at Knapp Logistics Automation (Booth S1223), in a Monday press conference.
“The vision system has been recently updated,” he explained. “It evaluates the stock keeping units (SKUs) in the totes as they travel along the conveyor, directing the robotic gripper to properly pick up the required SKU. Additionally, the robotic component is faster.”
The pocket sorter and robotic picking system are among several Knapp technologies targeting the challenges faced by e-commerce, multi-channel and omni-channel retailers, Reader said. He also debuted a patent-pending system that integrates pocket sorters into light-directed manual picking operations.
“It’s a system that is in use at Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI), which is picking and packing individual items within six-second windows,” he noted, pointing to a video loop of the system in operation at REI’s Goodyear, Ariz., facility.
Reader concluded the discussion by announcing Knapp’s new sponsorship of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA)’s Distribution Council, and a new partnership with Takeoff Technologies, a Boston-area startup building micro-fulfillment grocery e-commerce distribution centers that deploy sorting robots.
Sara Pearson Specter has written articles and supplements for Modern Materials Handling and Material Handling Product News as an Editor at Large since 2001. Specter has worked in the fields of graphic design, advertising, marketing, and public relations for nearly 20 years, with a special emphasis on helping business-to-business industrial and manufacturing companies. She owns her own marketing communications firm, Sara Specter, Marketing Mercenary LLC. Clients include companies in a diverse range of fields, including materials handing equipment, systems and packaging, professional and financial services, regional economic development and higher education. Specter graduated from Centre College in Danville, Ky. with a bachelor’s degree in French and history. She lives in Oregon’s Willamette Valley where she and her husband are in the process of establishing a vineyard and winery.
Components Grippers News Events Knapp Pick and Place ProMat Technology Warehouse
From geometry preparation to AI-assisted analysis, integrated CFD workflows…
Software-based GripperAI manages mixed picking through basic geometry
Safety, communication and motion control components enable smooth operation
North America’s largest robotics and automation event winds down
