Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.97
…access to automation, increase efficiency, and control costs with cleaning, delivery, and customer-service robots throughout the Charlotte area. Franchisees to provide local service RobotLAB’s newest partners first learned about the company’s franchise opportunity during a trade show in Charlotte. They said they recognized the program's innovation, organized support structure, and exclusive territories. The cousins have nearly two decades of retail and hospitality experience, which they said qualifies them to educate interested business owners on the operational and financial benefits of robot integration. The agreement will allow the Patels to deliver RobotLAB services including sales, tailored programming, onsite integration, and repairs.…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.86
…Pepper and NAO humanoid service robots and the Whiz cleaning robot, which are used in more than 70 countries. SB Logistics provides pay-per-use, third-party logistics (3PL) services, starting with e-commerce business-to-consumer (B2C) fulfillment and expanding to offline merges online (business-to-business) and direct-to-consumer (D2C) fulfillment. Bedford, Mass.-based Berkshire Grey combines AI and robotics to support fulfillment, supply chain, and logistics operations. Its customers include Global 100 retailers and 3PLs. In February, the company announced its intention to merge with a special purpose acquisition company and to be publicly listed. SB Logistics to fully automate DC SB Logistics owns Ichikawa Distribution Center,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.79
…machine tools, and other cell equipment such as air cleaning stations, part marking, deburring, and measurement systems. The vision system can use either a 2D camera or 3D sensor, depending on the application. The FlexLoader M also incorporates data-based optimization features, including remote monitoring, enabling operators to monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize their robot systems. Its vision software provides added functions including condition monitoring, fleet management, and performance and order management. ABB designs for ease of use The FlexLoader M meets the demand from manufacturers for a simple automated solution that produces more workpieces in less time, said ABB. It claimed…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.79
…of trailers that are moved many times for unloading, cleaning, loading, staging, and storage, it said. As a result, trailers can easily be lost. Today, yard personnel – either on foot or by driving a vehicle – manually update trailer locations in the yard. This data collection process is tedious, error-prone, and quickly outdated, which causes shipping delays especially when over-the-road truckers are unable to find their trailers. “Misplaced trailers, containers, and chassis are a universal pain point of yard operations and over-the-road trucking,” said Andrew Smith, founder and CEO of Outrider. “This new technology will be celebrated by logistics…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.77
…really about activating OEM partners through our technology for cleaning, moving, and sensing. BrainOS is used in a variety of mobile robot applications. Are there any new areas that you think are promising, such as restaurants? Pinn: There's an enormous opportunity in retail automation—brick-and-mortar stores are under pressure from online and new trends to omnichannel and home delivery. Retailers can differentiate themselves with automation, and we can help with that transformation by adding value to the retail space. For the forseeable future, that's where we're focused. Our technology is applicable to environments like restaurants, but the question for us, given…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.72
…Before heat treatment, the serial parts undergo a meticulous cleaning process in a cabin-washing facility, said HWL. Each customer typically delivers around 900 to 1,000 parts in large loading carriers, which employees manually transfer into washing baskets. The parts in the baskets are then carefully placed onto multi-tiered racks using a peg system before being transported to the oven for heat treatment. The immense diversity in size and weight of the metal parts, combined with their fragile nature prior to heat treatment, made the handling process extremely complex, noted Lembke. He said the following factors made automation with conventional systems…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.58
…testing time. Depending on the application, from a home cleaning robot to a lunar rover, the amount of time savings varies. Were features such as the regulated pure pursuit controller, waypoint follower, and keepout zones included with commercial applications like delivery robots in mind? Have AWS RoboMaker customers been demanding such features? Hansen: Yes, especially the waypoint following and keepout zone features. Both were added with commercial robots in mind. Previously, some customers have implemented these features themselves—now, this built-in capability saves them effort and raises the baseline for them to build on. What are the advantages of using Nav2…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.50
…1970s to deliver systems for demanding garment manufacturing and dry-cleaning applications. Just as styles have changed over the past 50 years, Planiform’s conveyance and garment-on-hangar (GOH) systems have continued to evolve. The company has increased automation capabilities to meet new requirements for industrial laundry services and distribution centers. Planiform’s latest innovation, the GOH Hive, enables fashion retailers to boost e-commerce efficiencies, according to Charlotte Girod, director of sales. In the past, these companies would have one distribution center (DC) for store replenishment and another for e-commerce. Now, it is combining those facilities—and their inventories—to support omnichannel retail solutions. GOH Hive…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.50
…part to devices that automate processes such as nozzle cleaning, wire cutting, and other tasks to speed up the overall process. Robots can also create a safer and streamlined environment on the production floor for human workers. Fortune Business Insights added that arc welding is expected to lead the pack in robotic welding applications, with the most demand realized from the automotive sector. It also said the Asia-Pacific region is expected to create the greatest demand. While automotive manufacturers have long used robots for metalworking, automated welding is still in the early adoption phase. Workers will need to be retrained,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.45
…a safer workplace is to create basic processes around cleaning, disinfecting, scheduling, and, perhaps most importantly, what to do if an associate test positive. Michael Wohlwend, managing principal at Alpine Supply Chain Solutions, related the story of a client who had to shut down a warehouse for two weeks following a positive COVID case. “While they were cleaning and sanitizing the facility, every team leader was on the phone with suggestions for new procedures that would give the team the confidence to come back to work,” Wohlwend recalled. “It was a real wake-up call.” Just as important as the new…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.42
…types and potential use cases, said Nielsen. They include cleaning robots, inventory scanning robots, and assistive-pick AMRs. It is inevitable customers will have AMRs from multiple vendors, with a resulting need for a layer of “interfleet management” software. Nielsen said that MIR isn’t developing this capability itself, adding that some of its customers are looking at using software from Amazon Web Services (AWS) called RoboRunner for this purpose. Other Automate exhibits of interest SVT Robotics had a sizeable booth at Automate. The vendor, which offers a software platform to speed and simplify integration of robotics solutions with host systems like…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.30
…software and mobile robots. Walmart uses AMRs for floor cleaning and taking inventory. The company also uses warehouse automation and is working on autonomous vehicles and drone deliveries. In 2019, Shopify acquired AMR provider 6 River Systems, but unlike Amazon and Kiva, 6 River Systems continues to sell robots to other customers. Another example is inVia Robotics, which has developed an array of AMRs that can conduct various warehouse tasks, including cycle counting, inventory replenishment, and item verification. Healthcare gets robot aides In addition to fulfillment centers and retail stores, hospitals are other dynamic environments that could benefit from mobile…