Despite the hype surrounding smart glasses and augmented reality (AR), “vision” is not the holy grail of order picking in the distribution center. Like other technologies that came before – RF, pick to light, voice picking – the value of this new technology will depend on how well it is applied to hands-on tasks in the DC. In the end, smart engineers and processes will determine the extent to which smart glasses and AR can transform picking and other warehouse activities. When Google released the first version of Google Glass in 2013, Lucas developers loaded our voice picking application and…
The reality is that robots and people will be working side-by-side in warehouses for years to come. The ecommerce transition will continue to drive net job growth in DCs, even as companies invest in automation. As robots find their place in the DC, warehouse operators will face new challenges in coordinating and optimizing the work of humans and their robotic coworkers. Part of this optimization and warehouse execution challenge is to balance an array of operational metrics, not just to reduce the total number of labor hours worked. In the long run, more robots may mean fewer overall warehouse jobs,…
Self-Driving Trucking As reported by Wired, for the developers of self-driving vehicles, semi-trucks are a potential low-hanging fruit. Although big rigs are imposingly, intimidatingly huge, they also predominantly run on freeways and other fixed routes that are simpler to automate. Fleet managers are easier to convince with rational, financial arguments than individual car buyers, and there’s a reported shortage of some 50,000 truck drivers in the US. Kodiak Robotics, an autonomous-vehicle startup founded by Don Burnette, previously a co-founder of the self-driving trucking company Otto, and Paz Eshel, a former venture capitalist, has announced it has raised $40 million in…
Welcome Mars settlers! Please print your habitat here. If what NASA envisions becomes a reality, such a sign may very well greet the pioneering earthlings who decide to relocate to Mars. In late 2015, as part of its Centennial Challenges program, NASA held a design competition “to build a 3D-printed habitat for deep space exploration, including the agency’s journey to Mars. The multi-phase challenge is designed to advance the construction technology needed to create sustainable housing solutions for Earth and beyond.” The teams were asked to not only render their concepts in Building Information Modeling (BIM) software but also to…
Based in Sterling Heights, Mich., Fitzpatrick Manufacturing is a CNC machine shop and custom manufacturer. Founded in 1952, the company supplies parts to more than a dozen sectors, including aerospace, automotive, medical equipment, and oil and gas. To increase operational efficiency and counterbalance a tight labor market, the company deployed a collaborative robot (cobot) that can work overnight to prepare materials for the morning shift. According to Kevin LaComb, co-president at Fitzpatrick Manufacturing, the new collaborative robot had to prove its versatility. “We were very deliberate about finding the right job for it,” LaComb says. “This is the first time…
inVia Robotics, the provider of the next generation of robotics warehouse automation solutions for e-commerce fulfillment centers, today announced $20 million in new funding. The Series B round was led by Point72 Ventures and included investments from Upfront Ventures and Embark Ventures. The funds will be used to boost the commercial deployment of inVia’s Picker robots and cloud-based Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) management system in warehouses as necessitated by the scaling e-commerce market. “To compete with behemoths like Amazon, warehouse automation is critical for e-commerce companies; but the overhead cost of purchasing a fleet of robots is often beyond reach,” said Lior…
Growing automation capabilities in the manufacturing space coupled with increasing penetration of advanced technologies, such as IoT, RFID, and AI, are expected to drive the material handling equipment market growth. Automated material handling systems are gaining popularity with the growing inclination of industries to replace human labor with automated systems. RFID, IoT, and Automatic Identification & Data Capture (AIDC) technologies are becoming significantly popular as they improve the order fulfillment processes and help in enhancing productivity across the supply chain. As human capital is becoming difficult to retain and recruit, automated material handling solutions are aiding companies in managing the…
What is an Autonomous Robot? One question that we have been asked a lot lately is “what do you mean by the drone being an autonomous robot?”. The phrase “autonomous robot” is being thrown around a lot in the business world right now, but because these innovations are so new, people are pretty confused about what these robots are and what they can do. Without a clear picture of what autonomous robots are, effectively integrating them into the warehousing and distribution environment can quickly turn into a crapshoot. Put simply, autonomous robots are intelligent machines capable of performing tasks in…
Capacity, a leader in order fulfillment, e-commerce, and electronic data interchange (EDI), has partnered with the robotic piece-picking experts at RightHand Robotics. The collaboration will integrate the Massachusetts-based company’s RightPick automation system into Capacity’s fulfillment solution offering. The robotic workcells will be integrated with existing warehouse material handling systems, such as those from Lightning Pick, and will increase the level of automation. The integration of RightPick technology will begin in Capacity’s New Jersey fulfillment center this year, and later expand to its California location. Capacity handles thousands of e-commerce and B2B orders daily. The company’s initial use of robotic piece-picking…
Last month, I received a copy of the 4th annual survey of manufacturers and distributors by Sikich, a Chicago-based accounting and consulting firm. You can download the whole survey here. The survey goes out to Sikich clients as well as others across the U.S. Before looking at the results, I had a chance to talk to Jerry Murphy, the Sikich partner in charge of the survey about what struck him by the results. “A lot of what comes out of this are best practices, and that allows us to make suggestions on what business leaders should be doing to address…
