Swisslog Wins the 2016 INDUSTRIEPREIS for Automated Item Pick

Automated Item Pick (AIP), Swisslog’s human-robot picking solution, was awarded the 2016 Industriepreis on the opening day of Hannover Messe.

The motto of this year’s competition was “Success through Progress,” and AIP was chosen as the winner in the “Intralogistics & Production Management” category for its outstanding economic and societal benefits. The award was presented to Christian Baur, CEO of Swisslog’s warehouse and distribution solutions (WDS) division.

Swisslog has developed robot-aided intralogistics concepts to meet the trend towards ever smaller batch sizes calling for reliable and efficient solutions in applications including e-commerce, pharmaceutical, spare-parts logistics and the supply of industrial assembly lines.

Now in its 11th year, the annual Industriepreis is awarded by Huber Verlag für neue Medien, a German media company. An expert jury comprised of professors, scientists, industry specialists and trade journalists had assessed the submitted applications and chose winners in a total of 14 categories.

“We are very happy to receive the 2016 Industriepreis,” Baur said. “This award recognizes our pioneering role in integrating advanced human-robot collaboration solutions in logistics. The cooperation between Swisslog and KUKA delivers synergies at every level. Ultimately, it is the customers who benefit from intralogistics solutions that are more efficient, flexible and intelligent.”

The centerpiece of AIP is KUKA’s lightweight LBR iiwa robot, which is equipped with state-of-the-art sensor technology and a seven-axis gripper. In Swisslog’s advanced logistics application, if networked with automated goods-to-person warehouse systems such as AutoStore or CarryPick, LBR iiwa is able to assist human workers with picking tasks without the need for a barrier or fence between man and machine.

In addition, as a result of the close cooperation between Swisslog and KUKA, a robot-aided material flow solution called Automated Case Picking is being readied for launch. This logistics solution will be able to automatically create mixed pallets from multiple single-SKU pallets.