Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.55
April 28, 2021
Supply chain operations have been using robots to meet shifting demand, and the addition of artificial intelligence could help them even more. Attabotics today announced a partnership with AltaML Inc. and the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute to add AI and machine learning to its supply chain infrastructure. The three organizations said they will work on projects combining AI with the Internet of Things to make operations more efficient, improve human-machine interactions, and enhance Attabotics' data management capabilities. Calgary, Alberta-based Attabotics said it provides “the world’s first 3D robotics supply chain system for modern commerce.” Inspired by ant colonies, the company…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.38
April 27, 2021
Plus One Robotics, which provides vision software for logistics robots, today said it has raised $33 million in Series B funding. The San Antonio-based company said the funding will support its ongoing expansion in the U.S. and Europe, as well as continued product development. “We’re fortunate to work with customers at the leading edge of warehouse automation who share our values of 'Robots Work, People Rule,'” stated Erik Nieves, co-founder and CEO of Plus One Robotics. “Like our clients, our investors have a global footprint representing Asia and the EU, as well as North America. This potent combination sets Plus…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 20.01
April 23, 2021
…Gatik said it delivers orders safely and efficiently among micro-fulfillment centers, so-called dark stores, and retail locations in middle-mile logistics. “Velodyne’s sensor solutions have the proven performance, reliability, and resilience our AVs need to operate safely and efficiently in complex urban operational design domains,” stated Arjun Narang, co-founder and chief technology officer at Gatik. “We’re excited to be rapidly scaling our autonomous solution with the support of Velodyne’s industry-leading lidar technology.” San Jose, Calif.-based Velodyne claims to be the first public pure-play lidar company and provides sensor hardware and software for autonomous vehicles, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), robots, unmanned aerial…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.59
April 21, 2021
SoftBank Robotics Corp. and its SB Logistics Corp. subsidiary, along with Berkshire Grey Inc., announced yesterday that they have partnered to offer “the most technically advanced” third-party logistics service for e-commerce fulfillment. SB Logistics said its 3PL offering includes Berkshire Grey’s Intelligent Enterprise Robotics systems, including robots using artificial intelligence to autonomously pick, place, and pack customer orders for the demanding Japanese market. SoftBank Robotics is a unit of Japan-based SoftBank Group Corp. It has produced more than 35,000 robots, including the Pepper and NAO humanoid service robots and the Whiz cleaning robot, which are used in more than 70…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 18.17
April 21, 2021
How does 6 River Systems improve training time? 6 River Systems’ solution uses a system-directed workflow that self-trains an associate as they complete their picking, replenishment, or various other tasks in the warehouse. Our collaborative robot “Chuck” will guide associates to locations following a pre-planned path that can change dynamically, so they don’t have to know where products are stored or the fastest way to get there. Once at the location, Chuck offers simple and clear instructions on how to perform their picking work. Associates don’t need to learn complex WMS RF terminal sequences or, worse, fuss around with a…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.74
April 20, 2021
Robots are hot in warehouses right now, with strong double-digit growth projected by most analysts over the next few years. There’s a big difference, however, between knowing that robotics has market momentum, and knowing how to properly scope an automation solution. The dilemma with scoping robotics for a distribution center (DC) is that plenty of “it depends” are involved in finding a good fit. It depends on what warehouse workflow you want to automate. It depends on order mix and volume, product dimensions, layout and labor considerations. That said, if you back up from these parameters, some best practices emerge…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 34.09
April 20, 2021
Whether it’s a 15-month ROI, $8.5M in savings, or a projected net present value (NPV) of $7.1M, our customers shared exciting feedback that we couldn’t keep to ourselves. Gordon Mackenzie, VP of Technology, CSAT Solutions: “6 River Systems is helping us improve productivity, accuracy and our time to fulfillment.” You know the drill. To get a job done, you can balance three variables: speed, accuracy and cost. If you’re pushing your team to pick and pack faster, you’re likely going to sacrifice some accuracy. However, when Gordon Mackenzie of CSAT Solutions brought Chucks into his operation, his team met SLAs…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.47
April 19, 2021
The Kroger Co. last week said it is launching its Customer Fulfillment Center in Monroe, Ohio, the first of its kind in the U.S. to combine “vertical integration, machine learning, and robotics with affordable, friendly, and fast delivery service for fresh food.” The company will be using technology from Ocado Group PLC under a partnership that began in 2018. Cincinnati-based Kroger was founded in 1883 and has close to 500,000 associates serving 60 million households annually. Hatflield, U.K.-based Ocado has been developing robots, artificial intelligence, and automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) for online grocers such as Ocado Retail Ltd.…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.08
April 19, 2021
There are pros and cons for each of the warehouse picking methodologies chosen for fulfillment operations. Zone picking is ideal for very large operations where pickers must travel long distances to complete an order or for smaller sites with very high order volume where congestion is an issue. A common challenge associated with zone picking is predicting where your associates will need to be based on inventory slotting and the order pool for the day. Incorrectly predicting zones results in overworking some associates while others wait around with nothing to do. Armed with knowledge of this challenge, we tackled the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.16
April 17, 2021
Warehouses, distribution centers, and loading docks are chaotic places. Unloading messy trailers and getting billions of e-commerce orders delivered on time involves backbreaking, repetitive work. These tasks are ideal for automation, but solving this challenge has been a holy grail of logistics, according to Pickle Robot Co. The Somerville, Mass.-based startup said it has done so in only 18 months and with limited funding by focusing on human ingenuity and problem solving. “At Pickle, we think of our robots less like Terminators and more like sled dogs. No one expects a team of dogs to run the Iditarod on their…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.60
April 16, 2021
Both system-directed, and swarm robots, are types of collaborative mobile robots, ones that work closely alongside your associates. These types of systems attempt to increase productivity rates compared to manual cart picking by reducing unnecessary walking and manual labor, speeding up workflows and reducing training time. Both approaches can provide benefits over cart-based picking, but there are significant differences as well. Before comparing and contrasting methodologies, let’s define each robotic approach. System-directed picking robots At its simplest, an associate meets a robot and is directed from pick to pick. This can be broken into traditional zones or utilize a more…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.52
April 16, 2021
ProMat DX this week included exhibits, keynotes, and educational sessions for manufacturing and supply chain professionals from over 140 countries. Among them were numerous discussions around robotics and automation. This year's ProMat was different from previous conferences and trade shows. The materials handling event had been co-located with Automate at McCormick Place in Chicago for several years, but after the last in-person event in 2019, the organizers of the two events decided to go their separate ways. ProMat 2021 was also virtual, but organizers said they expect to return to Atlanta for Modex 2022 (the events alternate years). Here are…
