Soft Robotics to Market AI-Enabled Gripper to Consumer Goods, E-Commerce, and Logistics Markets

Soft Robotics said moving beyond food processing and into warehouses and distribution centers was the “natural next step.”

Soft Robotics

Soft Robotics mGrip picks up slices of meat

While its compliant grippers have typically been used to carry food products, Soft Robotics is expanding its services to cater to warehouses and distribution centers.

By Robotics 24/7 Staff

· May 20, 2022

Looking to expand outside of food processing, Soft Robotics Inc. this week announced it will begin to market its artificial intelligence-enabled picking system to the consumer goods, e-commerce, and logistics industries.

The Bedford, Mass.-based company said its mGripAI solution combines 3D vision, artificial intelligence, and its compliant gripper to gives industrial robots the same dexterity and hand-eye coordination of human workers.

That enables robots to work in unstructured environments and complete tasks such as order fulfillment, sortation, decanting, and kitting, it said.

Moving beyond food processing

Initially introduced to the food processing industry in 2021, mGripAI can reliably pick, place, and sort delicate and variable products at extremely high speeds (>90 parts per million), according to Soft Robotics. It can now help warehouses and distribution centers decouple operations from the challenges of labor availability, said the company.

“Entering the logistics and e-commerce industry is the natural next step for Soft Robotics and mGripAI 3D picking technology,” said Austin Harvey, senior director of product at Soft Robotics.

“We're excited to start working with these customers to help increase their throughput and keep up with growing consumer demand,” he added. “The unprecedented pick rates of mGripAI, its ability to handle product variability, and the overall ease-of-deployment are game-changers as companies in this space continue to look for answers to their labor challenges.”

mGripAI will be displayed at Automate in Soft Robotics' Booth 1043 from June 6 to 9, 2022. Automate is the largest solutions-based showcase of automation, robotics, vision, and motion control in North America.

Soft Robotics is backed by leading venture capital firms and strategic investors that include ABB Technology Ventures, Calibrate Ventures, FANUC, Hyperplane Venture Capital, Honeywell Ventures, Material Impact, Scale Venture Partners, Tekfen Ventures, Tyson Ventures and Yamaha Motor Ventures.

Introduction to mGripAI.

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