WILMINGTON, Mass. – Locus Robotics held a ribbon cutting ceremony Oct. 23 at its new global headquarters, inviting local business representatives, venture capitalists, and members of the media for a tour of its new facility. Guests got the opportunity to interact with robots in customer demonstration areas, learn more about the company’s history at the Locus Robotics museum, and explore the factory floor where robots are assembled, refurbished, tested, stored, and sent out to customers. Over the past nine years, Locus has grown from a small operation in the back of a 3PL warehouse to a global robotic systems vendor.…
With Halloween around the corner, you might soon see ghosts, monsters, and zombies rise from the grave to trick-or-treat at your doorstep. In the commercial robotics industry, one company also seems to have risen from the dead - although less like a zombie and more like a phoenix. Founded in 2008, Rethink Robotics was known for its Baxter and Sawyer cobots. But these collaborative robots with human-like eyes aren’t coming back to haunt warehouses this Halloween. Rethink has relaunched, rebranded, and overhauled its robot portfolio to meet the needs of manufacturing and supply chain companies, learning from over a decade…
Commercial robotic systems need not be complicated, expensive, or take up valuable floor space in perpetuity. Some robots are small, but mighty - providing adaptable and scalable options without sacrificing flexibility or breaking the bank. Tompkins Robotics develops and markets a wide range of warehouse robots, including its flagship tSort system. The growing family of tSort autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and their relatives, coupled with the company’s Transcend platform, can provide flexible and scalable sortation for a variety of applications. Simple robots enable commercial viability Robotics 24/7 readers might have noted two similar company pages on our website: Tompkins Robotics…
People say knowledge is power, and that adage absolutely applies to supply-chain decision makers. Before any decisions can be made, data must be collected from facilities to inform the decision-making process. But unless your facility has a camera pointed at each and every location, gathering accurate and up-to-date data can present a complex challenge. Andrei Danescu, CEO and co-founder of Dexory, said the U.K.-based company was built around the principle of providing real-time site visibility for warehouse environments where it’s difficult to collect information. Using a combination of robotics and AI software, Dexory gathers and analyzes data to deliver impactful…
Data is the key to everything, especially when it comes to automation systems and robotics. End users are always looking for more data and the right data. What if there was a way to utilize the data collected in facilities now - in some cases using robots already deployed - to improve operational efficiency for years to come? Brain Corporation, a software developer for autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), expanded its product offerings based on feedback from its customers to address a new use case - inventory management. Not only did it create multiple options to suit different business operations, it…
For nearly 100 years, researchers at Bell Labs have developed countless technological innovations. The research institution is credited with inventing numerous electronics components that are commonplace today, including the transistor, photovoltaic solar cells, and charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging sensors. Now Nokia Bell Labs, the New Jersey-based research subsidiary focuses on commercialization opportunities for new technologies. One project at Nokia Bell Labs involved flying drones equipped with cameras within vertical farming facilities. Drones enabled by AI and machine learning technologies allowed farmers to more efficiently monitor plant health without manual inspection. As the project continued, Nokia identified warehouse inventory monitoring as…
Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) can be a powerful tool, delivering information for both robot navigation and operations management. Reliable visual SLAM can run on inexpensive hardware, making it relatively easy to deploy and scale. In 2016, Andrew Davison, Stefan Leutenegger, Jacek Zienkiewicz and Owen Nicholson co-founded Slamcore while researching “spatial AI” machine vision for robots at Imperial College London. Leveraging his experience of transforming early-stage technology startups into production systems, Nicholson said the team spent the next few years spinning out from the university, building their core technology and developing a product that can have a real impact on…
Tasks that are easy for humans can be difficult for robots. Pallet handling is a perfect example. Human operators are great at picking pallets of all shapes and sizes, even if there is plastic wrap covering the pockets, or if the pallets are skewed in the rack. Automated lift trucks work best when pallets are clean, in good condition, and oriented neatly. Conversely, repetitive tasks requiring precision are easy for robots, but human forklift operators can find it challenging to deliver the same level of precision. Automated lift trucks can place down pallets with consistent, miniscule gaps between units, while…
Airports are home to a variety of industries and businesses. Airside operations function alongside cargo and baggage ground handling logistics. Customer-facing terminals house security checkpoints and retail outlets. Runways, taxiways, ramps, and large grass fields make up most of the land area, while restaurants and stores inside terminals are compressed into expensive real estate. “When I think of an airport, it's like a small city,” said Cole Wolfson, director of the xBridge innovation center at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT). “There's just about every industry that you can think of that operates here. And so there's boundless opportunities to find new…
