Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.21
June 04, 2019
…and pasta aisles? Really? It’s happening now. Of course, Amazon’s bots continue to proliferate to fill your e-commerce orders. Meanwhile, Ryder Systems is cycle counting in its smart warehouses with robots from Fetch Robotics. Hollar, which offers products starting at $1 online, has deployed inVia Picker robots at its new Cincinnati warehouse. Don’t overlook companies like family-owned national 3PL Barrett Distribution. It’s using Locus Robotics’ order picking robots to fill orders at its facility in Franklin, MA. “This most recent busy season we were able to utilize the bots to ship a record number of packages with less head count…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.57
May 23, 2019
…delivered to your door in ten minutes. Shopping online? Amazon’s 30-minute package delivery could get consumer products to you in record time. In theory, this is the future of the transportation and logistics industry. Yet when we go outside, the skies aren’t filled with a swarm of drones whirring above us as they carry packages to our doorsteps. Why not? The technology exists to make drone deliveries feasible, but there are plenty of impediments - regulations on airspace, package weight, the need for certified pilots - that prevent large-scale adoption today. In practice, we still have a long way to…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.56
May 13, 2019
…priority as drone technology is further deployed and developed. Amazon has for some time been working on drone package delivery via its Amazon Prime Air division, for which it has development centers in the US, UK, Austria, France, and Israel. And George Mason University this year said it would let students have some food and drinks be delivered via drones on the ground. Still, there is a long way to go before consumer delivery via drone is a widespread reality in the United States. As the Wall Street Journal notes, it probably won’t be until 2020 or 2021 that the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.59
April 30, 2019
…industry. According to Supply Chain 24/7 (via Business Insider), Amazon is already well on its way to creating and managing its comparable Uber-like app for trucking. Unfortunately, the tech landscape is riddled with cases of supply chain disruptors failing, but the trend is clear and shows little indication of regression. Read: Could Amazon Be Worried About The “Walmart Effect”? 3. Shippers Turn to Smart Tech for Tracking The use of Uber-like apps implies another impact and trend in last-mile logistics, the use of smart technology for tracking purposes. Through the Internet of Things (IoT), smart technology and sensors can successfully…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 19.95
April 11, 2019
…Google, Toyota, Qualcomm, General Atomics and Kiva Systems (now Amazon Robotics). Founded in 2015, Canvas has already showcased some impressive technologies, including a fully autonomous cart system that positions the startup as a direct competitor with the likes of Bay Area-based Fetch. Canvas Technology raised a $15 million Series A led by Playground Global. Canvas is led by Jonathan McQueen, who spent six years at Qualcomm. The Canvas Autonomous Cart was on display at Playground’s open house roughly this time last year, doing an impressive job avoiding people and obstacles in the crowded space. The system utilizes 3D imaging and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.15
April 03, 2019
…and automotive verticals. The Fast Radius team is headquartered in Chicago and includes senior leaders from McKinsey & Company, Amazon, PayPal, GE and Blue Origin. Also participating in the Fast Radius Series B financing were previous investors Jump Capital, Skydeck, and Hyde Park Venture Partners. Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.30
April 01, 2019
…the industrial world similar to the way companies like Amazon transformed the retail sector.” Dassault Systèmes is certainly not the first to aspire to become an Amazon-like entity for manufacturing. Although the company has a long history in CAD, simulation and product lifecycle management (PLM), in the field of on-demand manufacturing, it must compete with younger but earlier players like Xometry, Fictiv and Protolabs. Some of these companies started out as portals catering to the inventors and hobbyists with low-volume orders that traditional manufacturers would rather ignore than fill. Others began by providing a single type of production. But many…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.25
March 27, 2019
Amazon has received a lot of attention for its plans to use robotic drones to deliver packages, but there are other, potentially more economically feasible, uses for autonomous drones in the supply chain. Sabrewing Aircraft Co., for example, has developed a pair of cargo carrier drones designed for large payloads (up to 800 lbs.) that could be used to move goods in transportation hubs (like shipping yards or airports). The company recently received more than $2 million in funding from the Drone Fund, Idaten Ventures, and other investors to complete construction of a full-sized, pre-production prototype of its Rhaegal air…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 13.42
March 14, 2019
Is Amazon In-Sourcing or Creating a New Service? You Already Know Amazon didn’t get to where it is today (hitting a market cap of $1 trillion in Sept. 2018) by resting on its laurels. At the time I wrote this, Amazon’s market cap is $777.8 billion. We can all rest assured that Amazon is looking to get back up to $1 trillion and stay there. Amazon understands the value and importance of innovation, and it’s size and service portfolio variety means that it looks at problems differently than other large companies. It’s that perspective that allows Amazon to enter new…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.87
February 21, 2019
…that the lack of food storage is down to Amazon; industry observers claim they have bought up units for an imminent expansion of their grocery shopping service. Businesses who lack internal storage capacity are finding warehouse providers full, or raising the rates they charge for temporary storage. As a result, many are having to optimize their existing storage spaces to host more racking, or are installing entirely new storage systems. Modular, high-density racking is best suited to this kind of storage, with the capacity to host pallets as well as smaller or more awkwardly shaped items. For some businesses, this…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.99
January 28, 2019
…Electric, Gillette, Formlabs, Voxel8, Desktop Metal, and a forthcoming Amazon facility. “We have the means to pull all these people together without the inertia of having them distributed across the country,” Quinlan says. “Being able to have those regular, in-person touchpoints is valuable.” While ADAPT’s short-term goals are focused on initial research projects and education programs, Quinlan says that the consortium wants to improve the way companies view AM and how it can fit into the future of manufacturing. “There’s a dearth of confidence because the technology hasn’t proven itself yet,” Quinlan says. “There’s been a conservative approach at many…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.36
January 25, 2019
…In these cases, a human double-checks the robot’s work. Amazon, through its acquisition of Kiva Systems, is a leader in the use of robots in fulfillment and boasts more than 80,000 robots across 25 centers. With robots, Amazon has been able to reduce delivery times, improve productivity and cut operating costs (Santagate 2018). Apparel: Sewbots are helping to decrease costs and promote worker safety in the clothing supply chain. These robots are a combination of artificial intelligence, robotics and 3D printing (Lennane 2018). Once sewbots are implemented, customers can interact with them via an app to order custom-made clothing. The…
