Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 20.17
September 27, 2021
…cloud software can double the performance of autonomous mobile robot, or AMR, fleets. The Waltham, Mass.-based company said the new release enables organizations to improve efficiency and throughput, while continuing to exceed industry safety standards. According to a Peerless Research Group industry report, 24% of organizations plan to implement automated guided vehicle (AGV) or AMR technology within the next year. (Peerless is a sibling organization to Robotics 24/7.) When evaluating automated material handling solutions, nearly 95% of respondents identified throughput as “important” or “very important.” The speed and flexibility of a pallet-handling solution is a critical factor in throughput efficiency…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 16.90
September 24, 2021
…across a company with a far-reaching vision for its operations that extends beyond pick and error rates. For instance, we covered Scandinavian retailer Varner, whose goal was “to build the best warehouse in the world” when it designed a highly automated warehouse in Sweden. More recently, we spoke to Masashi Okabe, project manager and production engineer at SoftBank Robotics (SBR), and Taro Ito, the robot quality assurance/control and software lead for SBR. They have designed a new 600,000-sq.-ft. SB Logistics distribution center (DC) in Ichikawa City, Japan, about 10 miles from Tokyo. Both companies are part of SoftBank Group: SB…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.57
September 23, 2021
…and units Opentrons said it integrates robotics, assays, and operations to create high-quality and cost-effective laboratory automation. The company has several subsidiaries that serve different life science and healthcare markets. Opentrons Robotics is an industry leader in flexible, user-friendly lab automation, said Opentrons Labworks. It flagship product, the OT-2, can be found in thousands of research and development labs for life sciences in more than 40 countries. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, OT-2 robots were deployed to hospital labs around the world to test millions of patient samples. Pandemic Response Lab (PRL) uses the Opentrons platform to provide affordable and high-throughput…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 25.79
September 23, 2021
Getting started with managing robot fleets can be difficult for busy developers and facilities operators. InOrbit Inc. today launched a Free Edition of its cloud-based robot operations, or RobOps, software. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said it will help businesses scale their fleets and free them to focus on their unique differentiators. “When we've talked to customers, many think they're going to develop RobOps software in-house, but many times, they don't know how much work that is,” said Florian Pestoni, co-founder and CEO of InOrbit. “But if they're freed from spending the next six months to three years on development,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 29.53
September 21, 2021
SoftBank Robotics Group Corp. today announced a global partnership with Keenon Robotics Co., which focuses on indoor service robots. The global launch expands on Keenon's announcement last week of $200 million in Series D funding and collaboration with SoftBank Robotics. The companies said they will work together to expand the use of robotics in the service industry. They said that service robots will provide efficiency and productivity gains that will allow businesses to allocate more time and resources for staffers to refocus on customer service. “We are proud to partner with SoftBank Robotics, the leader in the robotics solutions industry,”…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 28.43
September 13, 2021
…Belgium. Smart Technics Ventures, the innovation unit of Colruyt Group, will oversee the deployment of Scallog's goods-to-person system at Newpharma's new distribution center. Colruyt Group holds a minority stake in Scallog. “Scallog is already active in this sector in France,” said Caroline Dumas, international business manager at Scallog. “We are particularly pleased that we can equip the new Newpharma warehouse in close cooperation with Smart Technics today. This means that yet another Scallog picking facility will be operational in Belgium.” Founded in 2013, Scallog designs, manufactures, and markets robots to boost warehouse agility and productivity for third-party logistics (3PL), e-commerce,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 39.34
September 09, 2021
…Technology Co. today announced the successful deployment of sorting robots in the warehouse of Athinaiki S.A., a logistics and transport service provider specializing in last-mile delivery in Greece. “We are very excited to see our sorting robots provide Athinaiki S.A. with the speed and accuracy needed for excellent last-mile delivery services,” stated Jackson Zhang, vice president of Geek+ Europe. “With Geek+ and FDL, intelligent automation is easily accessible to Greek companies.” Founded in 2015, Geek+ applies robotics and artificial intelligence to warehouse operations and supply chain management. The Beijing-based company said it has more than 1,500 employees and 300 global…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 34.17
September 07, 2021
Mobile robots for deliveries are increasingly common, but intellectual property protections demonstrate the need for differentiation. Piaggio Fast Forward Inc. today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded it Patent No. 11,112,807 for a “Method for Determining Self-Driving Vehicle Behavior Models.” The Boston-based company said that its latest patent focuses on the proprietary design of robot behavior specifications. “The knowledge of understanding how people move is the foundation of our mission,” said Mitchell Weiss, chief technology officer at Piaggio Fast Forward (PFF). “Piaggio Fast Forward's approach is to understand pedestrian etiquette and design machines that share this…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 17.49
September 07, 2021
…minor they seem, will really boost our employees' and operations' productivity and efficiency.” “The DHLBots are a demonstration of our innovative spirit as we continuously seek solutions to automate repetitive tasks and, correspondingly, position us at the forefront of next-generation express logistics,” he said. DHLBot development DHL Express said it partnered with Shenzhen, China-based Dorabot to implement the DHLBot after a successful pilot provided “a significant boost” in parcel sortation productivity and service quality. This is especially critical given the consistent growth in shipment volume witnessed across the Asia-Pacific region. In 2020, DHL Express recorded a 17.3% year-on-year increase in…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 15.92
September 04, 2021
…is not just a matter of deploying some mobile robots. Operations must understand their processes, choose the best people or robots for certain tasks, and deploy the right software to manage multiple systems. The need for efficiency has never been greater, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues and retailers deal with back-to-school sales and the approaching holiday season, according to GXO Logistics. “When we talk about warehouse automation, it's clearly an ecosystem,” explained Sandeep Sakharkar, chief information officer at GXO Logistics. “We've evaluated automation across the board—not just robotic movement and picking devices like robot arms or devices for induction into…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 14.15
August 30, 2021
…risks. Formic Technologies Inc. has launched to offer customized robots at a low hourly rate, with guaranteed uptime and no upfront costs. The startup, which has an office in Chicago, said it can handle scoping, engineering, purchasing, implementation, and maintenance. “We started Formic because we saw all that automation can do, and we wanted to provide a way for any manufacturer to easily adopt automation in a simple, risk-free, and on-demand way,” said Saman Farid, co-founder and CEO of Formic Technologies. “With Formic’s fundamentally different approach to financing and deployment, manufacturers can do more with automation without high costs or…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 25.19
August 25, 2021
Not only can telepresence robots help workers in factory or office settings, but they can also improve the customer experience. Medical technology provider Hill-Rom Services Inc. said it has expanded its educational processes and sales reach by using telepresence robots from Ava Robotics Inc. at its product showrooms in Irvine, Calif., and Batesville, Ind. “There is momentum and excitement around tech like Ava,” said Pete Zawodniak, area vice president of sales at Hillrom. “But if we aren’t comfortable figuring out how to best use and package our technology, we can’t expect our customers to be. With Ava, our team feels…
