Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.42
December 16, 2021
As with other industries, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated demand for automation in the restaurant industry. However, small and midsize businesses, or SMBs, have tight profit margins and are understandably reluctant to invest in new, complex technologies even as they struggle with turnover and labor shortages, according to Haitham Al-Beik, CEO of Wings. Littleton, Mass.-based Letsbutterfly Inc., which does business as Wings, is developing proprietary systems in its HiveRobotics Lab for “autonomous sustainable retail” (ASR). Al-Beik has spoken with several restaurant franchises about the challenges they face and what they want from robotics suppliers. He shared his findings with Robotics…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.42
October 30, 2022
…up production, hire staffers, and expand globally. “As the COVID-19 pandemic made evident, supply chain resiliency is paramount,” stated Peter Anderson-Sprecher, co-founder and CEO of Fox Robotics. “We have the ability to deploy our solutions to customers and have them up and running in less than one hour, which has been key to our success, as it lets us work closely with our customer-partners and rapidly learn in a live production environment.” Founded in 2018, Fox Robotics develops, sells, and manufactures an autonomous forklift trailer unloader that it claimed is the world's first. The Austin, Texas-based company said it can…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.42
August 31, 2020
…approval comes as Amazon’s business has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers turn away from traditional stores - some of which were ordered closed - in favor of online purchases. Amazon and other companies hoping to revolutionize the retail world with drones have made significant strides in recent years. They’ve invented new devices and shown, at least on a limited scale, that they’re capable of flying relatively long distances and carrying the payloads necessary for packages. But routine deliveries are most likely still years off. The FAA is preparing to finalize a set of regulations by the end of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.42
February 24, 2023
…driven by things including anxiety related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, mounting employee frustrations, and limited options for flexible work. In 2021 alone, more than 47 million Americans voluntarily quit their jobs, according to the Harvard Business Review. Many of them have yet to return to full-time employment—if they ever do. With such a large exodus, many enterprises are turning to robots and AI. Some have touted automation as the only way to solve the workforce shortage. However, it didn't take long for companies such as Amazon and Tesla to realize that “lights-out” facilities are not necessarily as good as…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.42
August 29, 2023
…staffers have come under tremendous stress, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. German Bionic today officially introduced its Apogee+ powered exoskeleton to the North American healthcare market. The company said it designed the technology as a “personal lift assist.” “With its full range of features, our new Apogee+ power suit is designed to help ease the extremely demanding working conditions in these system-critical professions, making the jobs safer and more sustainable,” said Armin G. Schmidt, founder and CEO of German Bionic, in a release. “Based on our early success in the European market, we firmly believe that our smart companions will…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.42
July 14, 2021
Even as the U.S. economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, the shortage of skilled labor in manufacturing persists, threatening the nation's competitiveness. In May, the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing, or ARM, Institute launched RoboticsCareer.org as an online resource to help address workforce challenges. The Pittsburgh-based ARM Institute is a public-private consortium backed by the U.S. Department of Defense with more than 300 members from academia, government, and industry. It seeks to help manufacturers through the adoption of robots and workforce development programs. RoboticsCareer.org identifies core competencies that employers are seeking, recognizes education and training programs, and helps connect job seekers…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.42
January 02, 2022
…for order-fulfillment automation is rising exponentially each year. The COVID-19 pandemic has just added urgency to this trend. Customers expect ultra-fast deliveries, while e-commerce retailers struggle with a serious lack of workforce and increasing labor costs. Machine vision, artificial intelligence, and mobile robots are among the technologies helping warehouses, “dark stores,” and distribution centers consolidate orders and quickly, efficiently, and flawlessly prepare them for delivery. When it comes to warehouse automation, the sorting of parcels for shipment is a key part of successful order fulfillment. Robotics can help optimize the flow of goods, keep track of all parcels, and prevent…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.41
June 03, 2022
…experience at industrial supply company W.W. Grainger. During the COVID-19 pandemic, companies had to bridge the practical and theoretical to re-engineer how their networks worked as demand spiked, Greenhouse said. People are still needed in warehouses and elsewhere in logistics, not only for their critical thinking skills, but also for some tasks requiring the dexterity that robots have yet to achieve, he said. Locus grows rapidly to meet demand Lombardi said that Locus doesn’t just focus on selling robots or providing robots as a service (RaaS) to customers. Rather, it provides customers with solutions, she claimed. Such a strategy has…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.41
August 18, 2021
…as they face a labor shortage aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a recent study from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, by the end of 2020, the manufacturing industry had regained only 63% of jobs lost during the pandemic, even with job openings at near-record levels. “Given the foundational role the manufacturing sector plays in our nation’s economy, it is deeply concerning that at a time when jobs are in such high demand nationwide, the number of vacant entry-level manufacturing positions continues to grow,” stated Paul Wellener, vice chairman and U.S. industrial products and construction leader at Deloitte. Most…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.41
September 11, 2021
…and more popular as they become further developed. The COVID-19 pandemic and parallel revolution in e-commerce have also driven interest in last-mile delivery robots. Cleveron offers customizable vehicle Cleveron is one of the world's leading robotics delivery companies. The Viljandi, Estonia-based company designed its Cleveron 701 robots specifically for retailers and logistics firms seeking to boost their last-mile efficiencies. The mobile robots can enable businesses to scale and meet expanding demand for same-day deliveries that are ordinarily performed by vehicles and employees. The Cleveron 701 can be driven in low-traffic areas like suburbs and deliver orders to nearby customers within…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.41
August 02, 2021
…year, partly because of accelerated e-commerce demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, robotics has rapidly moved from trials to deployment in warehouses. This trend will likely continue. Manufacturers such as Nimble Robotics are investing heavily in this market, and industry analysts predict that autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) alone will be worth $6.8 billion in 2025. Increasingly sophisticated machine learning algorithms enable robots to rapidly identify objects. Thanks to lidar and infrared sensors, they can perceive items in superhuman ways rather than rely on sight or touch alone. Speaking of touch, robot suppliers have studied and applied human-machine interaction lessons, with touchscreens…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.41
May 09, 2021
…and re-engineer the entire logistics process. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce was a small but rapidly growing part of retail. Now, consumers have become accustomed to ordering everything from apparel and groceries to prepared meals, with the expectation of rapid and accurate fulfillment enabled by optimized systems. When a fulfillment center opens While brick-and-mortar stores have struggled, economic development authorities are always excited at the prospect of a new fulfillment center. For instance, Amazon is building another fulfillment center on 119 acres—about half the total floor space of the Pentagon— in Richmond, Va. The 650,000-sq.-ft. facility will be near…
