Picking, consolidating, and packing e-commerce orders have traditionally required workers and dedicated material handling at each step. RENATUS ROBOTICS Inc. yesterday launched an autonomous warehouse system that enables a single worker to perform those fulfillment operations in one stop.
“This system revolutionizes inventory management and order fulfillment in all segments of logistics including e-commerce,” said the company.
RENATUS ROBOTICS, which has offices in Lewes, Del., and Tokyo, said its system includes 3D storage racks, RENATUS SHUTTLE robots, and internal high-speed lifts. The proprietary RENATUS CORTEX software and algorithm package manages and controls the system.
One-Stop Pick & Pack system offers speed
RENATUS claimed that its One-Stop Pick & Pack system can provide “unmatched picking efficiency and ultra-high storage efficiency.”
“Other automated warehouse systems require the use of buffering and sequencing equipment as well as conveyor systems to consolidate all the goods in an order for packing, which can get costly in both equipment and labor costs,” said the company. “With RENATUS, goods arrive to workers completely sequenced and consolidated without additional equipment, a feature made possible through the fleet control and dispatch algorithm of RENATUS CORTEX.”
In addition, RENATUS said its system can automatically supply and seal shipping boxes, allowing one worker to fulfill an order by picking, consolidating, and packing. The company claimed that it provides picking speeds up to 500 lines per hour per worker while reducing their labor burden.
It added that the use of dedicated transport results in the horizontal and vertical transport of goods at speeds of up to 4m/s—2m/s2 acceleration for the RENATUS SHUTTLE, 4m/s2 for the high-speed lifts.
RENATUS promises picking efficiency
Goods are stored and supplied inside tote bins. This can simplify and accelerate the picking workflow as well as reduce human error compared with picking goods from a rack or shelf, said RENATUS.
Congestion and collisions among robots have been challenges for scaling automation for large warehouse deployments, noted the company. It said RENATUS CORTEX provides optimized, collision-free path planning for fleets of up to 2,000 RENATUS SHUTTLE units simultaneously.
Communications within RENATUS' system are over local 5G networks for stable, high-speed performance.
The company said the combination of its “state-of-the-art hardware, software, and algorithms” is capable of storing 1 million bins and shipping more than 300,000 lines per day. RENATUS also said that its technologies can “unlock unparalleled productivity while remaining incredibly cost efficient.”
The company is seeking funding, and interested investors can reach out to Yodai Takeuchi, head of global operations, on LinkedIn.