“Robots work in many industries but haven’t made an impact on logistics yet because of the complexity of the work – handling a wide array of different things in an infinite number of combinations, close to people and in confined spaces,” says Matthias Heutger, Senior Vice President Strategy for the Group. “Current research shows that 80 percent of logistics facilities today are still manual. Recently, however, technology is just starting to catch up to meet demands for flexible and low-cost robots that could collaboratively work in logistics.” The report highlights that the development of the next generation of robots that…
Bastian Solutions, a global material handling systems integrator, has announced a partnership with Servus Intralogistics to distribute and integrate the company’s robotic shuttle system in North America. “The Servus technology offers our customers a flexible and affordable solution for goods-to-person order fulfillment,” stated Aaron Jones, president of Bastian Solutions. “Whether in a distribution or manufacturing environment, Servus’ unique design can not only handle storage of products but also provide a complete solution for transporting product throughout a facility, something no other shuttle system is currently offering.” Servus offers a material handling solution in which all processes run seamlessly from incoming…
Uber hat Berichten zufolge Einkaufen für eine Flotte von selbstfahrenden Autos in Deutschland (Uber has reportedly been shopping for a fleet of self-driving cars in Germany), according to Reuters. It is unclear whether the ride-hail company wants to purchase cars that are already self-driving or traditional cars with some autonomous features. Many German automakers, including Volkswagen’s Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW, are working on their own autonomous vehicles. Earlier, Germany’s Manager Magazin reported that Uber had placed an order for 100,000 Mercedes S-Class series with Daimler, citing unnamed sources at both companies, but another source told Reuters that report was inaccurate.…
Cruise Automation, with 40 people, was launched in 2013 and had raised $20 million in venture capital to date, founder Kyle Vogt told Reuters. General Motors (GM) and Cruise did not disclose the value of GM’s acquisition, but Re/code reports that the acquisition cost GM “over $1 billion. “We will be committing considerable resources to recruit and grow the capability of the team,” GM President Dan Ammann told Reuters. GM’s goal is to use Cruise’s technology and its people to accelerate plans to launch autonomous vehicles, potentially as part of ride sharing fleets, “as soon as possible,” Ammann said. He…
Clearpath Robotics has announce Marc Tarpenning, co-founder of Tesla Motors, as a member of its advisory board. Tarpenning will provide the Clearpath leadership team with entrepreneurial and technical insight. “We’re thrilled to have Marc on our advisory board and work with him on a regular basis,” said Matt Rendall, chief executive officer at Clearpath Robotics. “Marc brings experience and insight that will help to guide our team as we accelerate the growth of our business and enter new markets with self-driving vehicle technology.” Tarpenning co-founded NuvoMedia in 1998, developer of the Rocket ebook - one of the first handheld devices…
North American sales of machine vision components and systems grew to $2.3 billion in 2015, its highest annual total on record, according to new statistics issued by AIA, the industry’s trade group. Total machine vision sales, which grew less than 1 percent, include sales of machine vision components and systems. The machine vision components category saw growth of 4 percent to $316 million in 2015. The leading growth categories for machine vision components in 2015 were lighting (16 percent), imaging boards (10 percent), and software (4 percent). The machine vision systems category was flat in 2015 at $2.0 billion. Within…
Visions of autonomous robots scooting around the warehouse floor, gathering data and performing tasks in a 24/7/365 environment—all with little or no human intervention—have been dancing around in the minds of designers and engineers for decades. Thanks to advances in technology, the high cost of labor and the ongoing push to eke more productivity out of the supply chain, robots are being called on to store, move, pick, put-away and sort inventory in more warehouses and DCs. At least for now, it’s the early adopters that are jumping into the fray, namely due to budgetary and cultural challenges associated with…
On a daily basis, food and beverage distributors have a unique opportunity to contribute their knowledge and skills to one of the world’s most profitable and influential industries. The stakes are high though, and the consequences of errors can have a domino effect. One false move and a customer won’t receive their products on time. One miscalculation and the wrong products will get shipped. Not only will suppliers be delayed as they stock their shelves, but shoppers may be unable to purchase the goods they need. That can have a negative impact on the profit margins of the suppliers, as…
One of the biggest trends in robotic systems developed for use within warehousing pick, pack and kitting operations has been collaboration. This refers to robotic mechanisms that work side by side with humans and interact as needed within a workcell, but with no physical safety barrier between the two. ABB Robotics’ latest offering in that space is the small-parts-handling YuMi, says Rick Tallian, manager of picking, packing and palletizing products and applications.” Users with space constraints in their palletizing zones are eager to see the same type of barrier-free interaction on robotic palletizers that are much larger,” he says, adding…
According to report on the global industrial robotics market in heavy industry, analysts forecast global industrial robotics market in the heavy industry to grow at a CAGR of 6.19% during the period 2016-2020. Industrial robots help manufacturing companies reduce operational costs and many manufacturing companies, especially in the US, outsourced their production and components to countries with low manual labor costs. However, rising labor costs have pushed these companies to change their strategy. The report indicates many industries worldwide are embracing automation in pursuit of smart factories and business organization. The use of automation reduces human error, and improves process…
Robot orders and shipments in North America set new records in 2015, according to Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the industry’s trade group. A total of 31,464 robots valued at $1.8 billion were ordered from North American companies during 2015, an increase of 14% in units and 11% in dollars over 2014. Robot shipments also set new records, with 28,049 robots valued at $1.6 billion shipped to North American customers in 2015. Shipments grew 10% in units and 9% in dollars over the previous records set in 2014. The automotive industry was the primary driver of growth in 2015, with robot…
