Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.85
Robots Adding Another Level of Automation For centuries, hand tools helped humans build dwellings, clothing, food containers and vehicles. The introduction of power tools then made it possible to complete this work much more quickly and with a lot less effort. Not long ago, robots added yet another level of automation by making it possible to get work done even more efficiently and by providing information about their operations. During this time, it often seemed that designers were trying to build automated systems to replace workers completely. But recently, there has been a significant shift toward building robots that can…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.42
While the changes occurring within the supply chain are, at times, in tandem with the rapid growth of e-commerce and technology, how companies approach things like their distribution networks and industrial building design is fundamentally changing. That was a key thesis of a new research report issued today by Chicago-based commercial real estate broker JLL. The report, entitled “Human Centric Design,” explained that “distribution center design is evolving, in large part to address the critical need companies are challenged with today-attracting and good people.” Bringing good people into the fold is clearly paramount for employers, but, as JLL, observes, in…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 22.66
Velodyne Lidar has introduced technology pertaining to advanced driving safety systems. Velodyne unveiled the VelaDome, a compact embeddable lidar that provides an ultra-wide 180°x180° image for near-object avoidance. Velodyne also introduced Vella, software that establishes its directional view Velarray lidar sensor as an integral component for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Vellas is designed to enhance advanced driver assistance functionalities currently on the market, such as Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), and Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC). “With these new products, Velodyne’s robust solution portfolio meets the entire range of lidar needs for autonomy and driver assistance,” says…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.94
Investment in Robotics RightHand Robotics, a leader in providing integrated robotic piece-picking solutions, announced that it has secured $23 million in a Series B funding round led by Menlo Ventures, an active investor in the robotics sector. GV (formerly Google Ventures) also joined this round along with existing investors, including Dream Incubator, Matrix Partners, and Playground Global. RightHand Robotics intends to use the funds to expand business and technical teams and broaden its suite of product applications in support of the company’s growing customer base. “This funding is a testament to our team’s intense focus on solving the critical challenge…
Found in Robotics Companies & Businesses, with a score of 12.18
RightHand Robotics is a leader in providing end-to-end solutions that reduce the cost of e-commerce order-fulfillment of electronics, apparel, grocery, pharmaceuticals, and countless other industries. Unlike traditional factory robots that can be complex to set up and are singly purposed, RHR solutions are simple to integrate and adaptable to improve the utilization of many different customer workflows, such as sorting batch-picked items, picking items from an ASRS, inducting items to a belt sorter, and order quality assurance.
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.36
Honeywell announced a strategic collaboration with Fetch Robotics to provide distribution centers with autonomous mobile robots to help them more effectively fulfill growing volumes of e-commerce orders. The initiative enables Honeywell Intelligrated’s customers to increase productivity and boost labor efficiency by deploying Fetch Robotics’ autonomous mobile robotics, which operate safely alongside people to transport items through distribution centers without human guidance or fixed paths. By adding this offering to its smart robotics portfolio, Honeywell Intelligrated can provide customers with a range of flexible automation solutions that can be tailored to address current and future operational needs. Honeywell Intelligrated previously announced…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.97
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never thought of 3PLs as innovators or early adopters of technology. Given the short-term nature of their contracts, the industry players focused on taking the fat out of processes and being great operators with conventional processes. Based on a few stories I’ve published in the last year or so, I think that’s changing. In Germany, for instance, Arvato SCM Solutions is utilizing pouch sortation and automated packaging technologies to optimize e-fulfillment and managing returns. GEODIS is utilizing mobile collaborative robots in its fulfillment operations. Last fall, DB Schenker announced that it is partnering…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.81
Robots and Humans Working Together In Robots in the Supply Chain: The Perfect Employee? Merril Douglas paints a picture of a time in the near future when robots and humans will work side-by-side to help companies gain speed, increase accuracy, cut costs, and handle the grunt work. “We're sitting in the middle of a perfect storm for robots in the supply chain. E-commerce sales continue to climb, forcing retailers to pick up the pace in their fulfillment and distribution centers,” Douglas writes. “But these days, it's hard to find workers to keep product moving in any kind of warehouse e-commerce…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.67
Vecna Robotics, a leader in autonomous material handling, recently separated from Vecna Technologies, creating distinct companies. As a standalone business, Vecna Robotics plans to play a major role in the coming transformation of industrial automation and robotics. Powering this transformation, Vecna Robotics finalized an investment led by Drive Capital this summer to chart a new direction that will maximize both robotics and human workflow in the industrial sector. The New Vecna Robotics The separation allows Vecna Robotics to focus on developing innovative, adaptive, future-proof hardware and software solutions in warehouse and industrial automation. Moving Vecna Robotics to a standalone business…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.24
A friend of mine is having a dickens of a time selling her home in Columbus, Ohio. It’s in a great neighborhood with one of the best school systems in the area. And, at over 4,000 square feet with a nice big yard it’s the kind of house people my age aspired to. What’s not to like? Apparently, it’s the size. The realtors have told her that the houses selling right now are smaller because today’s buyer doesn’t want to take care of all that property. Sometimes, it pays to think small. Something similar might be happening in the warehouse…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.78
It’s November, which means the holiday season is right around the corner. For most retailers, gearing up for peak is a matter of getting the right inventory in the right locations and hiring enough people to get the projected orders out the door. Those tasks are daunting enough. But, how do you recover when a facility you were counting on for the upcoming season catches fire roughly nine weeks before the first of November? Shawn Curran (left) is executive vice president of Global Supply Chain and Product Operations for Gap Inc. and Kevin Kuntz (right) is senior vice president of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.08
Challenge of Scalability in the Ecommerce Warehouse Perhaps no warehouse has to deal with a greater level of volatility and unpredictability as an ecommerce or omnichannel fulfillment center. When you look at a line chart of ecommerce growth over the last five years, it has been remarkably consistent. According to Statista, in the U.S. alone, retail ecommerce growth rose from $298 billion in 2014 to $342 billion in 2015 to $390 billion in 2016 to $452 billion in 2017. That’s an average growth rate of more than 13 percent per year. But, of course, growth in an individual warehouse often…