Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.53
…Inc. Westlake Village, Calif.-based inVia provides the Picker goods-to-person autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and the inVia Logic software for orchestrating tasks and the movement of goods. The company raised $30 million in Series C funding in July. 1. Robots aid rather than replace workers If robots handle repetitive tasks in quantity, that can free up people for qualitative work, such as creatively boxing orders, maintaining quality control, and collaborating with vendors to meet consumer demand, said inVia. By augmenting the workforce, robots can improve retention and productivity, it said. inVia CEO Lior Elazary “Companies are reporting that the rate of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.45
…tasks like picking and placing goods, as opposed to autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that have gained a significant foothold in warehousing and materials handling. Automate offered a varied mix of robotics companies In my two days at Automate, that momentum was visible in the solid attendance at the event as well as the number and variety of exhibitors. By variety, I especially mean more AMR vendors with larger booths, compared with past Automate events. Yes, the biggest exhibit spaces tended to be from major robotic arm providers such as FANUC, Universal Robots, KUKA, and others, but mobile robots were to…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.28
…case handing, automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), a shuttle system, vertical lift modules, robotic palletizing and depalletizing, and RFID for tracking. In addition to a focus on automation, sustainability was at the heart of the design. “Sustainability is a key component of HARTING’s 2030 strategy,” Meyer noted, adding that all of the energy in the facility comes from renewable sources. Regenerative braking on storage and retrieval cranes put energy back into the system, and an energy management system ensures the facility optimizes the energy it does use. Similarly, ergonomics played a key role in the design. “The heart of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.18
Few would argue that robots, especially autonomous mobile robots (AMR), are moving from an emerging technology to another tool in the materials handling tool kit. That is especially true in the third-party logistics (3PL) industry, where Modern has featured AMR implementations at industry leaders like DHL, GEODIS, Rakuten Super Logistics and, in the July issue, UPS. See a detailed inside look at the moving parts of the NorthShore Care distribution center. Those articles highlighted some of the leading AMR solution providers that are now becoming household names, including Locus Robotics, inVia Robotics and 6 River Systems. While each of those…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.17
Few would argue that robots, especially autonomous mobile robots (AMR), are moving from an emerging technology to another tool in the materials handling tool kit. That is especially true in the third-party logistics (3PL) industry, where Modern has featured AMR implementations at industry leaders like DHL, GEODIS, Rakuten Super Logistics and, in the July issue, UPS. Those articles highlighted some of the leading AMR solution providers that are now becoming household names, including Locus Robotics, inVia Robotics and 6 River Systems. While each of those providers brings different strengths and strategies to the table, what they share in common is…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.12
…robots into DCs for order fulfillment. At this stage, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are the dominant type. They don’t have arms and don’t pick items. While some item picking robots do exist in retail, most consider those to be the true bleeding edge of the technology. Instead, AMRs typically move goods to pickers and back again, much like the Kiva robots Amazon bought a few years back. Furthermore, AMRs are distinct from automatic guided vehicles that tend to move different loads, often full pallets, and are usually not part of the picking process. “The idea is to automate repetitive tasks…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.95
…are familiar with goods-to-person systems, including high-density AS/RS and shuttle systems, autonomous carts, or conveyor and sortation systems. Preiss sees opportunities for goods-to-robot systems, which capitalize on the established performance of goods-to-person solutions and stationary robots. Preiss describes one customer’s system of piece-picking robots stationed at a pocket sorter. Surprisingly, the robots are fed by manual processes in this case, but whatever the upstream mechanism for presenting goods to the robot, it can handle the retrieval and depositing of as much as 90% of the customer’s SKUs. “Many customers also want to reserve the right to manually put to the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.74
…also used in loading/offloading of objects within the space shuttle. Three of the most widely known space manipulators are: Canadarm1—14.7 m (48.8 ft.) long arms Canadarm2—17.5 m (57.7 ft.) long arms Special-Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) or Dextre—3.3 m (11 ft.) long arms Why is robotics the only way into space? Future space missions will be longer A typical one-way trip to the International Space Station (ISS) takes about two days, a trip to the moon is a minimum of three days, and a trip to the closest planet would take several months. As humanity pushes to explore deeper into space,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.30
…AS/RS, horizontal and vertical carousels. Since the early 2000s, multi-shuttles are compared to those solutions, and over the past 10 years autonomous mobile robotics [AMRs] are a part of every automation study. The modern AMR has seen advancements in technology, application, and there are multiple suppliers such as Locus, 6 Rivers, Fetch, Geek+, INVIA, among others. The other popular technologies we’re evaluating on a regular basis are the AutoStore and OPEX SureSort. The traditional competitors to these goods-to-person technologies are pick modules, unit sorters and put-walls to name a few. LM: Robotics is certainly one of the hottest topics in…