Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.44
June 02, 2021
…from home over the past year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. To deal with the spike in e-commerce demand, Crocs Retail LLC planned to move into a larger fulfillment facility. But in the meantime, it leased automation from 6 River Systems Inc. to improve throughput, reduce the effects of labor shortages, and optimize capacity. Sedlak Supply Chain Consultants helped Broomfield, Colo.-based Crocs see the potential benefit of working with 6 River Systems (6RS) with a distribution center site visit. “Sedlak came to us late last summer and said Crocs needed something flexible and fast for a half-million square-foot 'popup,'” recalled…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.44
July 15, 2022
…in Asia, CEO Felix Zhang Tao cited the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, falling private equity investments, and the long road to profitability. Starship Technologies—San Francisco-based Starship, which has developed and tested autonomous delivery robots, raised $100 million early this year. Last month, the company said it was “reducing headcount” by 11% to meet profitability goals, as its pilot with The Save Mart Cos. ended. At the same time, the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) noted that North American robot sales increased by 43% in value year over year in the first quarter of 2022. Similarly, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR)…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.44
May 25, 2022
…epidemic” – one that has only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the AARP Public Policy Institute, social isolation drives $6.7 billion in additional associated Medicare spending per year. The health consequences of loneliness and isolation are equivalent to smoking almost a pack of cigarettes daily, said the institute. ElliQ offers another form of companionship, supplementing traditional, in-person support, said Intuition Robotics. The Ramat Gan, Israel-based startup said it designed its service robot to foster independence and provide support for older adults through daily check-ins, assistance with wellness goals and physical activities, connection to family and friends, and more…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.44
January 04, 2021
…to be best prepared to combat the spread of COVID-19. Design and simulation software is in the spotlight more than ever, as it’s an instrumental way to create solutions and help many overcome obstacles, problems and challenges that have arisen due to the coronavirus and all that goes with it. “Engineering simulation software technology has been able to address critical issues at the personal, societal and business levels. Engineering simulation software is being used in a variety of ways as part of the pandemic, used to model both the protection of the general public as well as patient treatments,” says…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.44
April 09, 2021
…that they had to reduce their “people risk” during COVID-19 lockdowns. Having too few workers is a headache, but having no workers is a nightmare. That nightmare was compounded by an economic recession and U.S.-China trade tensions. Virtually overnight, automation converted from a “nice to have” pilot or public relations coup to a life raft. Enterprise customers are willing to devote more resources to automation, even if it means lowering the ROI threshold or giving it more time to prove itself. However, they have not lowered that threshold to zero. AI and autonomy are being commoditized Many excellent teams are…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.44
February 06, 2022
…and enabled workers to remain socially distant before the COVID-19 vaccine was widely available. In this case, evo wanted to scale quickly without reconfiguring its warehouse, so AMRs were the best solution (see video below). In many areas of the world, including the U.S. and Europe, warehouses had difficulty attracting and retaining employees long before the pandemic, particularly in the cold storage industry. In other areas of the world – namely the Asia-Pacific region – an adequate pool of workers exists, but labor costs are exorbitantly high, and so is real estate. In fact, Körber Supply Chain has a client…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.43
July 27, 2023
…their industrial computing technology and AMR software, respectively. The COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing labor shortages have created a surge in demand for mobile robots, which offer operational efficiency and flexibility, noted MOV.AI. AMR shipments increased by 53% in 2022 and could grow at an annual rate of about 50% through 2027, resulting in a total of 4 million installed units, according to Interact Analysis. In addition, the analyst firm predicted that revenue could grow by 30% to 40% annually between 2022 and 2027. With only 14% of warehouses having adopted at least one order-fulfillment AMR as of 2021, “the potential…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.43
August 04, 2021
…labor shortages and the boom in e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic. New tools are helping to orchestrate people, robots, and critical software for greater productivity. Lucas Systems today said it is partnering with Fetch Robotics Inc. to offer tailored systems for harmonizing warehouse workers with Fetch's autonomous mobile robots, or AMRs. “The future environment of warehouses and distribution centers will be a mix of people, robots, machines, and systems all working together,” stated Ken Ramoutar, chief marketing officer at Lucas Systems. “The precise orchestration of all the pieces will be key to achieving a competitive advantage in performance.” Wexford, Pa.-based…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.43
February 16, 2023
…said Hayes. “ASTM did a similar event prior to COVID-19 focusing on exoskeletons, with five vendors and 25 industry partners.” “OEMs walked away with exo sales and saved a lot fo time and money,” she recalled. “Now, they want more robots to be demoed. The goal is implementation.” ASTM International also plans to host a university exoskeleton competition this summer. “Unleash the Bots will show what's out there and what problems robots can currently solve and are not yet addressing,” Hayes added. “Small firms and global manufacturers will have the opportunity to learn what problems are solved and what's already…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.43
September 04, 2020
…Autodesk, noted the rapid change happening in response to COVID-19-related disruptions. Manufacturers are shifting “from reliance on long global supply chains to more local, distributed and on-demand manufacturing,” according to Gluck. But Rush LaSelle, Senior Director of Digital Manufacturing, Jabil, pointed out, “While there’s a heavy push for regional production, the process will likely take the form of augmented dependency on Asia, not necessary wholesale migration. The reality is, it’s hard to move large, entrenched supply chains.” This creates new pockets of opportunities for on-demand local manufacturing service providers and AM technology suppliers, who can help manufacturers bypass the need…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.43
April 14, 2021
…by artificial intelligence to improve fulfillment center efficiency. The COVID-19 pandemic may have accelerated e-commerce demand, but scarce labor has persisted as a driver of automation, said Lior Elazary, co-founder and CEO of inVia Robotics, which promoted its software at ProMat DX this week. “The uptick started in May of last year, and some customers have seen the largest volumes than they've ever seen,” he told Robotics 24/7. “They saw peaks much earlier in the year and couldn't get the labor force. Each quarter has been the best ever for inVia in turn.” inVia approaches warehouses holistically “At inVia, we're…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.42
October 24, 2022
…from a forklift, reducing the rise in accidents since COVID-19,” he explained. “Unlike autonomous lift trucks, which are islands of autonomy, we can take dumb forklifts, add sensors to look to the sky, and add some emergency stop features.” While most AMRs include safety measures such as lidar and bumpers, MAESTRO can send an alert in real time, improving efficiency. “No. 3 is controlling dumb forklifts with both video and communications,” Poliakine said. Other AMRs have to rely on APIs between legacy factory systems and fleet managers, but MAESTRO can processes a QR code tag on a pallet and generates…
