Bulls n Bears Entrepreneurship Zone :: Are robots revolutionising logistics?

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Once the sole preserve of the manufacturing industry, robots are quickly
gaining an automated foothold in logistics. Whether it’s fulfilment,
delivery or in the warehouse, bots are getting in on the action almost
everywhere.

With robots turning up in just about every part of the logistics process,
it feels like the industry is on the verge of a technological revolution.
But why hasn’t it happened already? After all, modern factories and
production plants are full of industrial robots. In fact, they’ve been
making manufacturing processes more efficient since the early 60s.

The answer lies in the technology. Despite offering very high levels of
precision and repeatability, standard industrial robots just aren’t
versatile enough to cope with logistics.

To become an asset to the logistics industry they need to do more than just
follow a preprogrammed motion path. They need to possess a level of sensory
perception that goes way beyond the factory robot’s motion path
capabilities.

Luckily, today’s artificial intelligence, sensor and vision technology is
providing them with these sensory skills. It’s early days yet but already
we’re beginning to see the arrival of some extremely viable solutions.


Taking to the streets


Last year, I read about a hi-tech start-up called Marble that was putting a
fleet of intelligent courier robots onto the streets of San Francisco to
deliver things like groceries, meals, and medicine. Equipped with advanced
sensors and high-resolution 3D city maps, the wheeled delivery robots were
designed to efficiently and politely navigate busy urban environments.
Sadly, city officials put a stop to it, but the concept still provides good
proof of the technology’s potential to work the last mile.

Similar robots have been tested in Germany and other automated delivery
solutions are beginning to show up in other places too.

Companies like Fetch, inVia, and Seegrid are using similar solutions in
fulfilment centres and warehouses. Designed with big e-commerce companies in
mind, Fetch robots find, pick and place items in huge warehouse
environments. Best of all, Fetch does not require the warehouse to be
reconfigured with special shelving and additional robot-friendly
infrastructure. This is a serious advantage since they can be implemented
straight into existing warehouses. Being collaborative they also work safely
alongside humans, which is not something every robot can do.

DHL tested the Fetch robots last year in a warehouse for customer Wärtsilä.
The pilot proved these kinds of robots can really help streamline warehouse
operations.

But what about coming at the problem from a different angle altogether?
Rather than have the picker go to the shelf, why not have the shelf go to
the picker. At the heart of this solution is a swarm of Kiva robots – squat
orange machines on wheels – that glide effortlessly across the warehouse
floor carrying tall upright shelf units to waiting dispatchers. Obviously,
this system would be expensive to install in established warehouses but
nevertheless offers a very effective solution if installed from scratch in
new facilities.

At DPDHL, we’ve also got some neat solutions up our sleeves. With French
robotics company Effidence, we’ve co-designed and trialed the EffiBOT and
PostBOT logistics robots in Germany and are experimenting with other
technologies too. Both solutions are fully automated trolleys that
drastically reduce the human operator’s workload. EffiBOT, for example,
follows the picker through the rack system and once full returns to the
designated drop-off location while an empty trolley takes over. This
solution makes moving from single to multi-order picking a more efficient
and ergonomic process.

Likewise, PostBOT is designed to make life easier for Deutsche Post
deliverers by transporting their heavy bundles of letters and parcels.
Capable of carrying loads weighing up to 150kg, the robot follows the
deliverer automatically along the entire delivery route, navigating around
obstacles and stopping when necessary.


Intelligent automated solutions


In the Americas, DHL Supply Chain has tested LocusBots in a life science
fulfilment centre. Just like EffiBOT, these are picking companions that work
safely alongside warehouse staff, helping to quickly locate and transport
pick items, so pickers don’t have to push carts or carry bins.

For co-packing and value-added tasks, we’ve also installed Baxter and
Sawyer collaborative robots (cobots) in some of our warehouses. Unlike
traditional industrial robots that have to operate in a real or virtual
safety cell, these cobots work safely next to humans on production lines and
do not require specialist programming. Made by rethinkrobotics they
dramatically increase line throughput and efficiency.

Thanks to enabling technologies such as artificial intelligence, vision and
grasping robots are capable of doing more than ever before. And where
logistics was once strictly off limits, it is now becoming a happy hunting
ground to all kinds of intelligent automated technologies that will
hopefully make it more efficient than was ever thought possible.—
Howwemadeitinafrica 


<https://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/are-robots-revolutionising-logistics/61
504/robot-handshake/> 

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