Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.55
March 25, 2019
…attendees began boarding the long black buses that would shuttle them to the site of the keynote. The 15-min ride from the convention center took them to the San Jose State University's sunny campus. It was still more than an hour before the scheduled keynote, but the queue was already snaking through the grass fields, all the way to the student union building that houses the canteen. “Hey, thanks for coming out this way! We got so packed in the old place we had to get you out here. I appreciate you making the trip,” said NVIDIA's cofounder and CEO…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.77
March 14, 2019
…emerging tech, everything from machine learning to the next shuttle to Mars. I’ve always been into science fiction books, and now it feels like the stuff we invent is straight out of those books. MHMRO: What technologies have helped you become more effective? Ouchakov: We have phones, tablets, and laptops to help us with troubleshooting quickly and successfully. We are a quick phone call away from our tech support line, and those people are a short walk away from the engineers that designed the stuff. The amount of tools and information available to us is staggering. Knowing how and when…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 12.75
February 05, 2019
…intelligence and gripping with automated storage and retrieval system shuttle technology, vertical lifts and conveyor, the order picking process can be completely automated. The fully integrated system is ideal for e-commerce fulfillment operations in a challenging labor market and handling high volumes of smaller-size orders. It uses unique gripping technology to pick individual items of a range of sizes, shapes, fragility and weights. When paired with AI, the gripper enables the automation of highly unstructured tasks found in e-commerce distribution. Little to no human intervention is required for the system to provide consistent accuracy and high throughput to meet customer…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.54
November 12, 2018
…piece-picking robotic put walls; nine aisles of mini-load and shuttle technology for automatic case storage and handling; a warehouse execution system (WES) for balancing the workload through the facility; a split-tray sortation system; and automatic bagging and trailer-loading technologies. Inbound cartons are conveyorized (top) in the trailer or container and automatically delivered to storage. It’s a case study in risk management and resilience and an innovative approach to automation. “In the past, distribution was viewed as a cost center and now, because of innovation, it’s a competitive advantage for us,” says Kuntz. “If we can do our job quicker and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.76
September 11, 2018
…person system complete with conveyor, sorter and say a shuttle system behind it. In relative terms, robots are affordable; if the solution works and a provider goes out, you may very well be able to replace that provider with another solution. Integration counts: A year ago, I visited a Rochester Drug distribution system using a mobile piece picking robot from IAM Robotics. One of the things the project manager was most impressed with was how quickly and easily the IAM team integrated the robot with the company’s ERP system. The robot was delivered one afternoon and was picking before lunch…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.84
July 09, 2018
…arms in combination with goods-to-person automated systems such as shuttles, in what might be termed a “goods-to-robot” setup. Swisslog Logistics Automation offers multiple types of automation and robotics solutions, including goods-to-person automation, goods-to-person mobile robots, and robotic picking arms. “Today, goods-to-person solutions are quite mature,” says Fredrik Henriksson, senior director of e-commerce consulting for Swisslog. “That was the first step in increasing the output … now the robotic picker is the second step.” Swisslog’s parent company KUKA Robotics offers smart, collaborative picking robots with sensors that allow them to be operated safely near humans without being fenced off. These picking…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.00
April 10, 2018
…AS/RS materials from Intelligrated, outlines how workflow adjustments and shuttle technology can increase efficiency for high-volume e-commerce fulfillment operations. Download Now! Zone Skipping Strategies to Reduce E-commerce Shipping Costs This white paper explains the zone skipping strategy and outlines the sortation technology best suited for operations, based on criteria like packaging type, footprint, labor availability and throughput requirements. Download Now! Precise Cross-Belt Sortation: Unlocking Efficient E-Commerce Distribution In the burgeoning e-commerce market, speedy delivery and diverse offerings are customer expectations, and the ability to deliver these via a seamless customer experience will increasingly separate leaders from laggards. Download Now! More…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.20
March 12, 2018
…new technologies, from WMS to voice recognition systems to shuttle systems. In all three examples, technologies that we take for granted today were, in reality, fairly slow to become part of what Jim Rice at MIT calls “the dominant design” - just another tool in the tool kit. I’m going to go out on a limb, but I’m now convinced that robotic materials handling is at a tipping point in materials handling, and it feels as if the adoption rate is about to take off. Over the last two years, we’ve featured a variety of robotic applications, ranging from piece…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.89
December 28, 2017
…country’s premier distributor of wine and spirits turned to shuttle and case dispensing technology to add new life to an old DC. Pouch sorter powers Stage’s fulfillment needs How a hometown department store chain transformed its e-fulfillment processes with pouch sortation technology. Rochester Drug Cooperative: Robots ready for work It’s still early stages, but Rochester Drug Cooperative is proving that mobile robotic piece picking can get the job done in the right application. Lodge Manufacturing: Distribution cast in iron In a new facility, iPhones and a new WMS allowed cookware manufacturer Lodge to double its business for the fourth time…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.96
November 19, 2017
…have won international competitions and one of his autonomous shuttles transported over 1,000 passengers in demonstrations across California. Rodrigues started Embark by recruiting talent from technology leaders including SpaceX, StanfordAI, and Audi's self-driving team. The team is backed by a multi-million dollar investment led by Maven Ventures. Maven’s previous investment in self-driving technology, Cruise Automation, sold to GM for $1B last year. Embark plans to quadruple its engineering team within the next year and aggressively expand its testing fleet to show their technology is ready for the nation’s highways. “We are committed to proving beyond a shadow of a doubt…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.50
October 10, 2017
…the adoption of some newer materials handling technologies, like shuttle systems. What does the adoption curve for robots look like right now? Santagate: Here’s the key difference between earlier automation solutions and service robots. Those other solutions often required a physical reconfiguration of your facility because they’re quite massive. Mobile robotics work within your physical constraints. Kiva, which was bought by Amazon, had limitations: You had to reconfigure your floor space; people couldn’t work on the floor with those robots, and you really couldn’t go onto a mezzanine. The new robotics companies are addressing the limitations of those pioneering technologies.…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 11.32
August 30, 2017
…examples of companies that have tapped solutions like mini-load shuttles, voice picking or goods-to-person robotics to achieve greater speed, labor savings and accuracy. So, why not just install some of that equipment at your DC and wait for similarly dramatic benefits? The short answer, say consultants involved with warehouse automation, is that replicating the path taken at another DC may turn out to be disappointing if the automation installed doesn’t support core goals or match the nuances of your facility’s order profile. “Copying what another facility has done can be the worst way to approach a project because it’s the…
