Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.24
April 18, 2022
…throughput is changing. Remember how different e-commerce looked before COVID-19. Modular is important because it allows the easiest path to adapting to dynamic conditions. Robust is important because it accommodates the first four requirements on the list. Requires little to no teaching is important because this is the future that is already here. Suppliers generally agree that artificial intelligence advances that allow robots to learn on the fly are the single greatest technical advancement of the past couple of years. 4. Integration over point solutions We’ll round this out with a fourth best practice: The best solution is an integrated…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.23
January 04, 2023
…in Alzheimer’s and dementia deaths with the advent of COVID-19. As the U.S. grapples with an aging population, dementia is becoming one of the largest killers of seniors, greater than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. One in three people over the age of 65 die of Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, according to the Alzheimer's Assocation. The most tragic aspect of the disease is the limited means of treating it. Many nursing homes have introduced animal therapy sessions for patients. Numerous research studies have found that animals (especially dogs) have improved moods and increased social interaction with residents,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.23
October 10, 2021
…increase in e-commerce sales since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, that’s got to hurt. “The sheer magnitude of returns, especially in e-commerce, has been so enormous in the past 18 months that reverse-logistics practices have not generally caught up with the increased volumes yet,” said Tony Hasman, principal consultant at Dematic. Furthermore, nearly 30% of consumers deliberately over order, and 19% of consumers order multiple styles, according to Barclaycard Research. Ouch. With that in mind, reverse logistics should rank higher on the list of to-dos than cleaning out the cellar or reorganizing the garage. That said, many reverse-logistics operations…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.23
July 21, 2021
…cost-effectively solve equity, mobility, and connectivity problems. During the COVID-19 pandemic, observers have said that people would leave cities and never come back, but people are coming back. The conventional wisdom that everything's going to happen one way or another is wrong. Sean Harrington, Optimus Ride CEO Harrington: We have a very specific focus around AVs, and one of the most valuable things we can get from the advisory board is perspective and a broader view from the members' time in the private and public sector. We can “pressure test” ideas so that we're not missing something at urban transportation…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.23
April 07, 2021
…WiBotic has benefited from heightened e-commerce demand during the COVID-19 pandmic. “There was an initial dip in activity, but it rebounded very quickly in the robotics space,” said Matt Carlson, vice president of business development at WiBotic. “People who have been dabbling in robotics started to buy more and actually put them to use. Our best two quarters were the fourth quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021.” Robot fleets and interoperability “In addition to order fulfillment, demand for UV disinfection robots went way up,” Carlson said. “We have a couple of customers developing and deploying these robots. Lots…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.23
September 29, 2023
…still a logistics pain point While trade conflicts, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the e-commerce boom and not-quite bust have come and gone, employment rates remain high despite inflationary and other economic pressures. “Labor shortages continue to be one of the biggest challenges facing our customers in the warehousing and logistics industry,” said Kait Peterson, senior director of product marketing at Locus Robotics. “That’s why it’s critical to optimize the existing workforce productivity while also improving worker ergonomics and overall workplace quality.” “By collaborating with human workers, our robots minimize unproductive walking time, pulling heavy carts and lifting to free up…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.23
April 23, 2021
…costs down. How much have trade disruptions and the COVID-19 pandemic affected Sarcos' supply chain and testing? Wolff: Not much because we're not yet producing in volume. We had some challenges with some custom fabricators for components that weren't off the shelf. We try to use SMEs [small and midsize enterprises] around the world, but if someone had COVID, a small company would have to shut down completely. We never completely shut down ourselves. There's no question that the pandemic slowed work—it's hard to develop complex systems without people, and it had as much as a 50% impact on productivity.…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.23
June 07, 2023
…advice We've seen macroeconomic headwinds including trade conflicts, the COVID-19 pandemic, labor shortages, and now inflation and less-available venture capital. How can startups proceed? Singh: We invest for long-term trends, but they have to be mindful of the need to raise money every 18 to 24 months. We continue to look for new approaches and make investments, but we need to make sure there's demonstrable success in the short term. It's harder to raise money for people already in the middle of it. Their companies might have raised funding four to six years ago but didn't have technical proof or…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.23
September 15, 2020
…of the last big in-person tech shows before the COVID-19 shutdowns began), BMW Group tickled the automotive enthusiasts’ fancy with a demo of the BMW i Interaction EASE, a concept car for the future. Part of the “wow” factor was its use of the panoramic windshield as an augmented reality (AR) display. “It can show additional information on the windscreen that is tailored to the situation at hand and the vehicle’s surroundings. Thanks to 5G connectivity the vehicle knows exactly where it is and can offer the user information on the surrounding buildings, businesses and other objects as and when…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.22
May 17, 2022
…associates and operators, the labor shortage that predated the COVID-19 pandemic has led to improvements in working conditions, according to a study by Zebra Technologies Corp. The global “Warehouse Vision Study” found that companies are investing in ways to better fulfill the needs of both customers and workers. “We’re seeing a positive shift occurring in the supply chain and, specifically, within warehouses,” stated Mark Wheeler, director of supply chain solutions at Zebra Technologies. “Most decision makers believe investments in automation far outweigh the risk of doing nothing, and they are becoming more comfortable integrating all sorts of new technologies into…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.22
September 02, 2022
…more and costing less to implement.” “Public perception is changing—COVID-19 drove a lot of that with job shortages,” he added. “Robotics is key to the future of productivity; there is no future of work without robots.” Founded in 2016, Apptronik spun out of the University of Texas at Austin. The Austin-based company is developing exoskeletons and the Astro humanoid robot. Cardenas spoke with Robotics 24/7 about how Amazon's recent purchase of iRobot and Apptronik's own work are showing the way to the future of robotics. Amazon iRobot acquisition an industry bellwether Amazon is one of the biggest brands in the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.22
March 24, 2021
…disputes with China and supply chain disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, many e-commerce and logistics providers have described an acceleration of demand. Increases that were predicted for five years coincided first with staffing shortages and then the need for social distancing. “A lot has changed in the past year,” acknowledged Prather. “The pandemic may have brought attention to end users on how to do this. Do you want to be the last holdout for automation?” “Where is your industry in this journey?” he asked. “Manufacturing is even further ahead than my industry—they see how this is going to play out.”…
