Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.42
…mind, especially as cases spread in high-profile operations like Amazon. However, the impact of the pandemic has also prompted renewed assessments of DC operations on everything from the degree of automation and advanced software necessary in a warehouse today to the importance of building size, work area design and location. The pandemic underscored the growing prevalence of e-commerce fulfillment and the increasing need to mitigate labor and productivity risks through providing a safer, less congested work environment largely enabled through increased automation. It’s important to keep in mind that systems and automation capabilities were developing rapidly before the pandemic. However,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.41
…and throughput they are after, especially when you have Amazon pushing the same-day delivery model, and everyone is chasing and trying to achieve that same panacea,” says Michael Howes, vice president of software and controls for Swisslog Warehouse and Distribution Solutions (WDS) Americas, which offers automated materials handling as well as software solutions. E-commerce means that DCs have a greater volume of small orders that make it more complex to orchestrate systems, not only within the four walls of the DC, but with order fulfillment and transportation management decisions. “Everyone is being pushed to ship smaller and faster,” says Joe…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.34
…warehouse automation providers, as well as continued involvement from Amazon, which recently acquired robotics vendor Canvas Technology. Among the major automation vendors, Honeywell Intelligrated announced a partnership with AMR provider Fetch Robotics last fall, while last year Dematic launched a Robotics Center of Excellence business unit. Another sign of AMR momentum: earlier this year, software provider Manhattan Associates launched Manhattan Automation Network, a partner program with robotics and automation vendors to speed up deployments. The increasing difficulties that DC operators are having finding enough associates, combined with the rapid maturity of sensor and guidance technology, are driving a strong market,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.28
…are benefiting the makers of driverless industrial vehicles. Already, Amazon is poised to become one of the biggest users—and suppliers—of automatic guided vehicles in the warehousing and distribution space. But AGVs aren’t just for those with big budgets and massive operations. In fact, AGVs aren’t even always AGVs. The “guided” part of that acronym, familiar from decades of autonomous vehicles designed to follow magnetic tapes, wires and other fixed paths, is now just one of a growing number of form factors. For the purposes of this story, AGV is an umbrella term including self-driving vehicles, autonomous mobile robots, vision-guided vehicles…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.27
…and location near DCs operated by the likes of Amazon created labor challenges even before the pandemic. Adam Greenberg, founder and CEO of NorthShore Care Supply, opted for high levels of automation when he opened a new 173,000-sq.-ft. facility in 2020. The centerpiece was a robot-to-goods picking system designed by Numina Group that used autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) from Waypoint Robotics, since purchased by Locus Robotics. The ability of Waypoint's AMRs to carry up to 700 lb. was essential because NorthShore Care ships full cases of product to its customers. Those cases were delivered to an automated packing, labeling, and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.26
…Fig. 1: The temi home robot combines advanced sensing, Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant technology, and AI-enabled facial and voice recognition to deliver a mobile smart home hub that promises to take human-machine interaction to a new level. Image courtesy of temi USA. Multiple Personalities One vision of this technology divides the robots into two types of systems: service robots and social robots. In both cases, these machines can be part of the drive toward greater automation in the home. Within the context of the smart home, service robots provide utility functions on behalf of their owners (Fig. 2). Current examples…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.25
…Future by Andrew Yang, Hachette Books (2018). Related Article: Amazon Acquires Autonomous Technology Company Zoox Related Papers Managing the Transition to Driverless Road Freight Transportation This report sets out the findings of an ITF project on managing the transition to driverless road freight transport, directed by José Viegas and managed by Daniel Veryard. Download Now! TuSimple’s Self-Driving Safety Report This Voluntary Safety Self-Assessment describes TuSimple's safety processes and features as well as the progress they’ve made implementing them. Download Now! Bringing Long-Haul Electric Trucks into China This paper addresses two main questions; What are the potential impacts on carbon emissions…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.21
…bought up by the biggest e-commerce player of them all—Amazon. Today, dozens of vendors offer AMR solutions, and others offer piece-picking robotic arms. There are different AMR approaches, too. Some solutions follow a “goods-to-person” principle in which robots bring mobile shelf units filled with items to a workstations, while other AMRs meet up with human pickers in the aisles to guide them through a set of picks within a relatively dense section of the warehouse. In either case, the goal is to vastly reduce the amount of walking or “travel” that takes up much a warehouse associate’s day. Going forward,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.12
…leaders that are setting the pace, like Walmart and Amazon. They are setting the bar on service when they do things like moving from two-day to one-day shipping or Walmart doing same day delivery for groceries, he notes. “As a result, new last-mile fulfillment models are taking shape, such as ship from store and drone delivery.” Pointing out that the future of delivery revenue goes beyond just shipping and delivery cost, Amling says smart companies are “playing offense,” versus attempting to defend their territory. “This is the era of organizational velocity,” he adds, “which is the ability to observe, accept…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.11
…labor rates as part of what some call the Amazon effect, that makes the return on investment timeframe shorter for robotic lift trucks, down to two years or less for multi-shift operations,” says Paramore. “As a result of all these trends, we expect to see sales of robotic lift trucks increase going forward into the remainder of the year and into 2021 and beyond.” Companies considering robotic trucks do face a much higher price tag for a robotic unit versus a conventional equivalent, but in effect, it’s unrealistic to compare unit costs, explains Paramore, since robotic units are a system…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.08
…a pioneer in goods-to-person robotics that was acquired by Amazon). “We are a drop-in replacement for cart picking that is a full-system solution,” explains Jerome Dubois, co-founder of 6 River Systems. “We not only do the transport, we are the pick station, we are the put-to-light, we are the scanner, and the aisle manager functions. Everything is contained within our robot.” 6 River’s software can integrate with a warehouse management system to get order information, and with that data, it figures out the most efficient work assignments for each robot or “Chuck” as they are called. The software then sends…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.93
…insurance to consolidated delivery. In addition to delivering an Amazon-like customer experience to industrial customers, new found supply chain efficiencies, savings and additional revenue are delivering benefits to Cisco’s bottom line. Better yet, says Allen, those benefits recur year after year. In retrospect, the program was hardly a slam-dunk. First, top management had to buy into the concept, according to Darren Mallard, senior manager of marketing strategy, who joined the project part way through. “Management did its due diligence and set benchmarks that had to be met along the way. And we exceeded their expectations,” he says As a result…