Plus One Robotics announces integrated 3D vision solution for generating robot picks

Plus One Robotics, Inc., a 3D vision and controls developer for robotic
automation in the logistics and e-commerce markets, announced the commercial release of
the PickOne Perception system, an integrated 3D vision solution for imaging parcels and generating robot pick points.

Plus One Robotics has partnered with leaders in robot manufacturing, system integration, and e-commerce to develop this technology for the order fulfillment and parcel shipping markets. Rising consumer demand for shorter delivery times has increased the need for improved efficiency in sortation, induction, and singulation of the millions of packages which must be handled each day.

The repetitive nature of these material handling tasks leads to high employee turnover and thus a need for an automated solution.“It’s an exercise in labor optimization,” Plus One Robotics Chief Executive Erik Nieves said. “Our PickOne technology enables robots to perform these simple yet necessary operations, allowing employees to flow to higher value work.”

At up to 1500 picks per hour, the software allows robots to meet or exceed human picking rates, he said.Leveraging advances in 3D image processing and machine learning, Plus One Robotics’ technology combines hardware and software to deliver a robust, integrated solution. The PickOne system is robot-agnostic and can be installed on robots from any major robot manufacturer, including ABB, Fanuc, Kuka, Universal Robots or Yaskawa.

“Intelligent perception is the prime mover for automation in supply chain,” said Plus One Robotics CTO and cofounder, Shaun Edwards. “As the variability of the goods to be handled continues to grow, the need for adaptive vision and seamless robot control is more acute. Our PickOne system is the first to successfully deliver on these requirements, and at pick rates that meet our customers’ throughput demands.”

Founded in 2016, the company has 11 employees and expects to add around 20 more within a year.Plus One Robotics’ initial investment round was led by Schematic Ventures, a thought leader in supply chain automation, with participation from Lerer Hippeau, ff Ventures, First Star, and Dynamo.
“The founder DNA is really something else. Erik is a known leader in the industry with a distinguished career at Yaskawa. Shaun & Paul built the most widely-used open source software platform in industrial robotics,” said Julian Counihan, General Partner at Schematic Ventures. “As a team, they check every box needed to create the next major category of enterprise software.”