Robotics

Could warehouse automation increase truck capacity by 30%?

Fast-growing warehouse robotics firm Geek+ is adding another weapon to its portfolio of automation solutions designed to improve warehouse efficiencies, lower costs and increase throughput speed.

The Smart Mixed Case palletizing solution, co-developed with warehouse management tools provider WSR Solutions, combines Geek+’s autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and WSR’s intelligent palletizing algorithm to more efficiently collect and pack multiple outbound orders on a single pallet. The result is a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/could-warehouse-automation-increase-truck-capacity-by-30

FedEx Ground installs robotics in Queens, plans additional facilities

FedEx installs robotics in Queens facility

FedEx Ground has installed robotics solutions in its Queens, New York, facility to sort small packages that arrive in bulk for loading into containers bound for other hubs in the Ground network. The package delivery giant will add more robotics from Berkshire Grey in sortation facilities in Las Vegas and Columbus, Ohio, in future months.

Berkshire Grey’s (NASDAQ: BGRY) AI-enabled Robotic Product Sortation and Identification (RPSi) system is designed to autonomously process, pick, identify, sort,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fedex-ground-installs-robotics-in-queens-plans-additional-facilities

Instacart to build warehouses in partnership with retailers

Instacart is moving beyond the store with plans to open robotic fulfillment centers for grocers to handle online orders. The grocery delivery company has announced that Fabric will provide the software and robotics for the facilities, which will start rolling out over the next 12 months, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“With the rapid adoption of online grocery shopping that’s taken place over the last year, the grocery industry has experienced an accelerated transformation that’s required...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/instacart-to-build-warehouses-in-partnership-with-retailers

Walmart moves robotics strategy from in-store to distribution centers

Late last year, Walmart severed what was to be a five-year partnership with Bossa Nova Robotics. Less than a year into the alliance, Walmart said human resources were just as capable and efficient as their robotic counterparts when it came to optimizing the stocking of shelves in its stores. 

In that announcement, Walmart said it would continue experimenting with robots within its stores in order to keep up with the e-commerce demand it had been experiencing throughout the pandemic.

While the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/walmart-moves-robotics-strategy-from-in-store-to-distribution-centers

Zebra Technologies to acquire warehouse automation firm Fetch Robotics

Zebra Technologies, which provides everything from mobile computers and printers to data capture and machine learning systems and even temperature monitoring and sensing technologies, is adding warehouse robotics to its portfolio.

The Illinois-based global company will acquire Fetch Robotics, an on-demand warehouse automation provider, for $290 million in cash. Zebra (NASDAQ: ZBRA) already owns 5% of Fetch. The transaction is subject to closing conditions and regulatory approval and is expected...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/zebra-technologies-to-acquire-warehouse-automation-firm-fetch-robotics

Seegrid adds RaaS model for companies looking to utilize robots

Robotics provider Seegrid Corp. is the latest company to offer its products through a Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) model, an alternative to outright purchase or lease.

Seegrid’s primary offerings of autonomous mobile robots (AMR) used in the material  handling business are its Palion Tow Tractor and Palion Pallet Truck, as well as a new product, Palion Lift AMR. They will all be available to customers through an RaaS model. 

In an email to FreightWaves, Jeff Christensen, VP of product at Seegrid,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/seegrid-adds-raas-model-for-companies-looking-to-utilize-robots

Berkshire Grey shows next-generation fulfillment robots

Berkshire Grey releases robotics for warehouse e-commerce fulfillment

Berkshire Grey has unveiled its next-generation picking robots for fulfillment operations. The Intelligent Enterprise Robotic (IER) picking and mobility robots utilize artificial intelligence to offer lower cost points and shorter delivery times while expanding the number of SKUs the robots can pick.

Berkshire Grey’s robots do not use fixed conveyor belts and it said the technology allows for retailers, grocers and third-party logistics providers to orchestrate a fleet of mobile robots to pick,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/berkshire-grey-shows-next-generation-fulfillment-robots

Refraction AI sees big opportunity in Texas

Refraction AI, a last-mile delivery platform and robotics company launched in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has expanded to deliver food in Austin, Texas.

Southside Flying Pizza will be the first Austin business to use Refraction AI’s fleet of 10 Rev-1 robots for automated delivery. Customers will have the option to have the Rev-1 deliver their food with a unique code to unlock the order. Notifications are provided throughout transit. The Rev-1 robots primarily use bike lanes and can carry up to six...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/refraction-ai-sees-big-opportunity-in-texas

Robots make more business sense with AI –  just don’t expect fireworks

Robots are secretly becoming practical these days. You wouldn’t necessarily know it: there has been no flashpoint moment or Elon Musk figure in the robotics field. Boston Dynamics horrified the world with dog-like robots in the 2010s; NASA recently charmed us with a helicopter-carrying Mars rover. Little else has come to public notice, but nonetheless robotic systems are now reaching a level of genuine usefulness in business. And artificial intelligence (AI), also now seeing use at a serious...

https://www.ship-technology.com/features/robots-make-more-business-sense-with-ai- just-dont-expect-fireworks-2/

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