Mobile robots and automated storage took up much of the show floor at ProMat 2023. However, other technologies, from conventional conveyors and fleet management software to vision-guided picking, were also on display.
Siemens showed how its AI and vision systems are adding visibility and precision into intralogisics operations. The company said its automated guided vehicles (AGVs), automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), and distributed drives can optimize materials movement.
With its SIMOVE toolkit for centralized, vendor-neutral management, Siemens also explained how digitization and digital twins can lead to greater efficiencies.
Vanderlande displayed and discussed robotic item picking in a goods-to-picker overflow. The robot is integrated with a tote exchange shuttle at a rate of 600 per hour, said Lotte Willems, director of product management at Vanderlande.
“Customers are still asking for manual fallback for goods-to-picking stations, whether it’s for holiday flex or to ease into automation,” she told Robotics 24/7. “With split orders, most go to the robot, and some that are harder to sort go to manual picking.”
Vanderlande has partnered with RightHand Robotics for its vision-guided picking system and Universal Robots for its cobot arms.
Also at McCormick Place were vision-guided picking systems from Plus One Robotics and RIOS.
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