…robots fully automate the loading dock processes by autonomously unloading pallets of goods from trailers. More Supply Chain News Ranking the Best Countries for Private Business in EMEA 2024 Salary Survey: How Does Your Yearly Income Stack Up? The Three Biggest Challenges Facing Shippers and Carriers in 2024 Luxury Car Brands in Limbo After Chinese Company Violates Labor Laws Walmart, the largest private employer in the U.S. with over 4.600 stores, also purchased a minority stake in Fox Robotics to “demonstrate a multi-year commitment to the company and its technology.” Despite concerns about robots replacing human workers, Gray stated that…
Found in MMH News, Blogs & Content, with a score of 10.06
April 11, 2024
…being used to fully automate loading dock processes, autonomously unloading pallets of goods from trailer, which at his DC, are then inducted into an automated storage & retreival system (AS/RS). According to Gray's post, associates with lift truck experience are being trained to oversee the Foxbot autonomous lift trucks. Gray cited the example of one associate, Jose Molina, with 26 years of experience with Walmart, who used to unload trucks manually, and now directs the FoxBot autonomous units. “Where Jose used to unload manually, he can now direct a FoxBot autonomous forklift to three times the same output,” Gray wrote.…
Found in MMH News, Blogs & Content, with a score of 4.65
April 11, 2024
…picking of small items. There is also manual truck unloading and loading using lift trucks. Receiving Most deliveries arrive on gondola style trucks to the main receiving area (1), which is covered by a large canopy with 18 unload positions. Using manually operated lift trucks, working from the sides of the gondola, two pallets are unloaded at a time, and placed on nearby pallet conveyor that moves goods into the building. There are also seven docks for rear unload trailers. Automated storage Once inside the building, a quality control area checks for overhang on pallets and verifies pallet weights and…
Found in MMH News, Blogs & Content, with a score of 5.50
April 11, 2024
…packing processes (36%), sorting (32%) and truck loading and unloading (28%) are all processes that are ripe for improvement. Twenty-four percent of companies see robotic picking as being extremely important, while 24% want to improve replenishment processes, and an equal number want better than 24% order consolidation processes. The top priorities for robotics right now include robotic picking (32%), cycle-counting and data collection (32%), sorting (28%), replenishment (28%), and truck loading and unloading (28%). Other companies want to use robotics for order/case picking (24%), packing (24%), unit load/heavy payload transport (20%) and order consolidation (20%). Looking out over the next…
Found in MMH News, Blogs & Content, with a score of 4.01
April 10, 2024
…intelligence (AI). Blair says the robot is capable of unloading floor-loaded trailers as needed. “It makes 400 to 1,500 box movements an hour. Typically, Pickle can load or unload a trailer in about two hours,” he adds. When unloading a trailer, cameras mounted on the arm download images of the wall of boxes in front of it, dynamically initiating picking decisions. Blair explains that “best fit” algorithms make a decision on which box and how to grab it before manipulating it in 4 to 8 seconds. Picked boxes are moved by the arm to a takeaway conveyor for movement to…
Found in LM News, Blogs & Content, with a score of 3.90
April 01, 2024
…enabled improvements in picking productivity of 2-5X. Similarly, robotic unloading and sortation systems are automating repetitive and physically demanding tasks to free up workers for higher-level tasks. Yet these systems are also part of a larger “macro” process—the movement of materials and products into and through an enterprise to serve customers in the most efficient way possible. Achieving that goal involves more than robotics and other digitalization technologies. It encompasses people, equipment, data analytics, and the materials and products themselves. As digitalization continues to advance, it is creating opportunities not only to improve specific processes but to optimize material flow—and…
Found in LM News, Blogs & Content, with a score of 3.63
March 27, 2024
…container vessels calling the Port of Baltimore every week, unloading or loading around 21,000 TEU (containers) which it said now have to be diverted to other nearby ports and unload/load cargo. Mirko Woitzik, Global Director of Intelligence for Everstream Analytics, said this situation will disrupt vessel schedules and strain labor and handling capacities at other ports like Philadelphia and Norfolk, leading to spill over congestion that could last months. “Thus far, alternative ports along the US East Coast have indicated that they have the handling capacity to receive the diversions,” Woitzik told LM. “This is likely true in the short…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.37
March 15, 2024
…automation challenges: Pick and Place Singulation Palletization/Depalletization Detection Trailer/Container Unloading Laundry Integrators can choose from several configurations to secure the right combination of components, capabilities and costs to handle customer automation challenges. Through its partner program, Fizyr continues to develop new combinations and use cases for its vision packs. “Zivid has long been an innovative and collaborative partner to Fizyr, and developing some of our vision packs with them and their incredibly capable line of cameras has helped us get off to a fast start, just like the vision packs do for our integrators,” said Ken Fleming, Fizyr CEO. Pairing…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 24.85
March 13, 2024
…Robotics launched its latest automatic trailer truck loading and unloading system in North America at MODEX 2024. The system features VisionNav’s newly unveiled VNST20 PRO automated guided vehicle (AGV). The trade show is being held March 11-14 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA. VNST20 PRO AGV turns 180 degrees inside trailers VisionNav’s new offering combines its VNST20 autonomous forklift, a robot control system (RCS) for fleet scheduling, and 3D LiDAR for simultaneous location and mapping (SLAM) with deep learning positioning technology. The system has been designed specifically for automated loading and unloading of trailer trucks and manual…
Found in MMH News, Blogs & Content, with a score of 5.17
March 13, 2024
…mobile robot pallet truck. It features autonomous movement and unloading, but pallets are loaded onto this robot manually. The Hybrix is easy to deploy, program and use, thanks to its fully integrated ANT navigation software. Hybrix is the easiest solution with which to upgrade a company’s existing logistic processes and it can be quickly integrated in every existing workflow without the need of additional infrastructure. APTIX, by contrast, is X-ACT‘s fully autonomous pallet truck. This stacker solution is designed to move goods in warehouses automatically, from picking to drop off, with precision and efficiency. AMRIX is X-ACT’s fully autonomous platform…
Found in MMH News, Blogs & Content, with a score of 13.14
March 12, 2024
…TruckBot, an autonomous unloader. Developed for truck and container unloading purposes, it features several recent enhancements for higher efficiency. For instance, the robot features multi-picking functionalities that it didn’t have during ProMat 2023, enabling it to handle numerous items simultaneously. It can also handle heavier and larger boxes than before for flexibility. Two Mujin-powered robotic palletizers can now finish an inbound cycle, all within the same workflow. “Truck unloading has always been seen as a risky job—hard for humans and tricky to automate. But now, with TruckBot, it’s a whole new story,” said Huan Liu, president of Mujin China. “This…
