Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.02
October 11, 2017
Big Data, Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things, the Amazon Effect—no matter what your business is up against, it’s probably safe to say your warehousing and distribution operations do not look like they did five years ago. Start-ups have shaken up the solutions landscape with innovative software, hardware and go-to-market strategies. Established systems suppliers have made meaningful shifts in how they provide solutions and services. In the process, the warehousing and distribution playing field has leveled somewhat. Thanks to consumer demands, massive automated facilities and mom-and-pop shops are expected to deliver similar service. And, thanks to faster and cheaper technology,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.32
October 11, 2017
Pushed by Amazon to compete with free delivery, often in two days or less, and to provide subscription-based offerings (such as curated box-of-the-month products or routine replenishment of consumables) atop incredibly slim margins, more omnichannel and e-commerce retailers are turning to third-party logistics and fulfillment service providers (3PLs) for fulfillment solutions. View: Top 50 U.S. & Global 3PLs “Just about everybody in retail is being dragged along by what Amazon does,” says Robert Lieb, professor of supply chain management at Northeastern University who has surveyed 3PL CEOs for nearly 25 years. “They are trying to respond with an omnichannel solution…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.24
October 10, 2017
…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. So, the thing that will eliminate the 5- to 7-year adoption lag is the fact that you don’t have to do a whole redesign. Modern: A robotics solution provider recently said to me: “Convincing the skeptical world of supply chain decision-makers is an interesting challenge. Some are starting to get the religion…and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 11.24
September 08, 2017
…really be, think about scanning packages in one of Amazon’s warehouses. Amazon’s Phoenix, Arizona fulfillment center, for one, is 1.2 million square feet – enough to house 28 football fields. As a solution, researchers at MIT propose using drones as a relay between RFID tags and an RFID reader, extending the RFID reading range substantially and allowing the drone to scan for signals that might even be hidden behind other objects. The paper details how researchers created RFly – a new system enabling drones to wirelessly detect and locate RFID-tagged packages for faster, smarter package cataloging and tracking. The RFly…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.62
August 01, 2017
…this area. UberRUSH for parcels, Postmates, Deliv, Lynk and Amazon Flex provide spot-market deliveries by independent drivers are examples of the changing landscape. LSPs tender delivery jobs on their apps to alert drivers. Picking up and delivering ad hoc isn’t as efficient as delivering something where you have strong route management, with items in your truck and you know where you’re going. But technology overcomes this challenge to leverage vehicle utilization, and those with a bike who want to earn extra money can also do so. These services have limited geographic reach and are not yet widespread like the legacy…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 18.68
August 01, 2017
Amazon has announced the results of its 2017 Amazon Robotics Challenge with winners hailing from Australia, the U.S., and Singapore. The Australian Centre for Robotic Vision succeed in the Grand Championship Combined Task to win the overall Challenge with Nanyang Technological University of Singapore winning the Pick Task and MIT Princeton winning the Stow Task. The Australian Centre for Robotic Vision developed their own Cartesian robot “Cartman” for the challenge. Theirs was the only Cartesian robot at the event, and it is believed to be the least expensive contestant as well. Cartman can move along three axes at right angles…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.49
July 31, 2017
…This is the equivalent of combined revenues of Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, IBM, Baidu and then some (a lot) more. It is also a big employer: the US Bureau of Labour Statistics suggests that 1.79m people work in this sector driving 7.2m trucks for inter-city freight transport earning an average salary of 41.3 k$/year. No wonder this is a hot topic now then. Trucking is also potentially an easier target than general passenger cars. This is because it spends much of its time in intercity roads which are less congested and less sinuous than city ones. The driver may remain…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.08
July 12, 2017
…average warehouse. For example, the winner of the inaugural Amazon Picking Challenge in 2015 was able to pick 10 of 12 correct items in less than 20 minutes. It would be a long time, it seemed, before such robots could compete with the dexterity and speed of even the slowest human picker. Now, many big players have unveiled robotic piece-picking technologies, often in partnership with several smaller firms and startups that specialize in sensors, grippers or software elements that come together to make a feasible solution. Where the robotic piece picker of the past required a perfect alignment of a…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.37
June 14, 2017
…and throughput they are after, especially when you have Amazon pushing the same-day delivery model, and everyone is chasing and trying to achieve that same panacea,” says Michael Howes, vice president of software and controls for Swisslog Warehouse and Distribution Solutions (WDS) Americas, which offers automated materials handling as well as software solutions. E-commerce means that DCs have a greater volume of small orders that make it more complex to orchestrate systems, not only within the four walls of the DC, but with order fulfillment and transportation management decisions. “Everyone is being pushed to ship smaller and faster,” says Joe…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.98
April 26, 2017
…said. “This isn’t going to be easy.” Related: Is Amazon Creating Self-Driving Cars for Delivery? Related White Papers The Future Isn’t What It Used To Be According to predictions made a few decades ago, current travel should involve self-driving automobiles, jetpacks and flying cars, with space transport a common occurrence. Download Now! Parcel Delivery: The Future of Last Mile Currently subject to significant disruption, last-mile delivery, especially of parcels, is getting a great deal of attention in the media and from investors, and rightfully so. Download Now! Drone Technology: Clarity from Above According PwC's study on the commercial applications of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.98
April 25, 2017
…“Working in the Automation Age,” featuring speakers from A3, Amazon, Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute, RAMTEC Ohio, and FANUC. In conjunction, A3 released a white paper exploring how companies like General Motors and Amazon continue to grow their workforce even as they add automation technologies. Automate 2017 also garnered increased international participation. For the first time, 13 Chinese automation companies exhibited, reflecting China’s dramatic growth in robotics implementation and development. A first-ever joint US-China Robotics Forum brought together leaders from the Robotic Industries Association (RIA) and its counterpart, the China Robot Industry Alliance (CRIA). A3 also announced Apellix as…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 17.17
April 24, 2017
…are also doubling down on creating autonomous vehicles. Now Amazon could be eyeing driverless car technology as a way to get items to people's doors faster, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal. “Amazon.com Inc. has created a team focused on driverless-vehicle technology to help navigate the retail giant’s role in the shake-up of transportation, according to people briefed on the matter.” The initiative, still in its early phases, could help the Seattle-based company overcome one of its biggest logistical complications and costs: delivering packages quickly. Amazon could use autonomous vehicles including trucks, forklifts and drones to…
