…the standard version of the Retriever announced earlier this year. Labrador Systems’ investors include SOSV/HAX, Amazon’s Alexa Fund, iRobot Ventures, Grep VC and SkyRiver Ventures. Labrador was awarded a National Science Foundation Phase I SBIR Grant in 2021 and a Joseph F. Engelberger Foundation Robotics Grant for Elder Care in 2022.
…instead of coming out of like an Amazon mega fulfillment center,” Cherewka added. He acknowledged that e-commerce volumes are down a bit compared with last year and 2020, but volumes remain high overall. “I think one of the 3PL [third-party logistics] sites we're at, their peak volumes goes up 6x around this time of the year, so it is still as crazy as ever, maybe not just as crazy as last year,” said Cherewka. Autonomous forklifts grow in popularity Like…
…stores,” can provide orders for nearby customers. Amazon Go stores use cameras and intelligent software to track purchases and charge customers as they leave the premises, replacing cashier kiosks. Boston Dynamics' Spot quadruped can perform dangerous surveying tasks at construction sites. As Sanders said, robots can perform the tasks that people don't want to do, supporting fulfillment in spite of workforce shifts. Logistics picks up on robotics Warehouse operators and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) are making healthy investments in automation…
…advanced robotic applications. Its partners include Google, Amazon, and Samsung. The company also supports and collaborates with the worldwide open-source robotics movement and is the lead developer of the MoveIt motion-planning framework. PickNik to develop capture controls for SpaceWERX Under its SpaceWERX contract, PickNik Robotics will help develop enhanced control for on-orbit capture of space assets and increase the overall efficiency and safety of U.S. Space Force operations. The work will focus on capturing and manipulating objects in orbit using…
BOSTON—As the head of Amazon.com Inc.’s autonomous mobility technology and product development program, Mikell Taylor understands what it takes to make robotic systems that scale. She was a key figure in the Seattle-based company's development of the Proteus industrial autonomous mobile robot (AMR), which was unveiled earlier this year. It’s the first AMR to come from the team at Amazon Robotics, and it will be used in-house and not sold in the commercial market. The robotics team was formed after…
…player in the robot arm ecosystem, despite Amazon, Ocado, Kindred, and FedEx,” he added. “Consolidation will happen, but Plus One is fortunate. We started with the application rather than the technology. The only metric that matters for us is the number of picks around the world.” “We've had a lot of success with mixed depalletizing, which people don't want to do,” said Nieves. “Companies want to reach boxes at the bottom, not the top at induction.” “We say, 'Robots work,…
…delivery, made omnipresent by leaders such as Amazon, grew to include same-day delivery in many markets. Consumers also showed an eagerness to capitalize on the convenience e-commerce offers in new sectors. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s latest survey estimates that e-commerce accounted for 14.5% of all retail sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 and that online purchases were $870.8 billion for the year, a 14.2% increase over 2020. The takeaway is clear: The pandemic prompted people to shop online,…
…based in the Boston area. Walmart rival Amazon.com Inc. acquired Kiva Systems (now Amazon Robotics) for $775 million in 2012, encouraging the growth of mobile robot providers to serve the rest of the industry. Since Alert Innovation a leading provider of automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) for the grocery industry, it remains to be seen how its acquisition will affect the micro-fulfillment market. The global market for micro-fulfillment centers could be worth about $36 billion by 2030, according to…
…of an internal organizational program called DRIVE. Amazon.com Inc. also announced this week that it is scaling back its own robot delivery service. “Although robotics and automation are key pillars of our innovation strategy, Roxo did not meet necessary near-term value requirements for DRIVE,” Krishnasam wrote. “Although we are ending the research and development efforts, Roxo served a valuable purpose: to rapidly advance our understanding and use of robotic technology.” In an e-mailed statement to Robotics 24/7, a FedEx representative…
…Mikell Taylor, principal technical program manager at Amazon Robotics, will present the conference’s opening session, “Building Collaborative Robotic Systems at Scale.” Kevin Blankespoor, senior vice president and general manager of warehouse robotics at Boston Dynamics, will deliver a keynote focused on “mobility, perception, and manipulation of robots.” The full agenda of conference sessions can be found online, but here are a few highlights, according to A3. Roundtables featuring vendors and users include: From the Warehouse to the Factory Floor and…
…a percentage for high-touch customers,” she added. “Amazon and others aren't doing that. ShipHero and inVia enable an autobagger to push workers doing motonous things to higher-paying custom work such as returns.” With its WMS, ShipHero already collected a lot of data before its partnership with inVia, said Barnett. “What is the most helpful data we can push back to a 3PL and its merchants?” she said. “We have a Replenishment Report tool. We put in one 25,000-sq.-ft. area everything…
