28 DC VELOCITY DECEMBER 2014 www.dcvelocity.com
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Q What’s the biggest opportunity for using robots in warehousing?
AWhen looking forward to the next likely breakthroughs in
robotic technology, I feel that robot-
ic industrial trucks, similar to but
more advanced than those made by
Seegrid, will be the true entry point
for more widespread use of robotics
in the warehouse. A truly function-
al fully robotic forklift could find
immediate application in almost any
warehouse. If you look at the recent
breakthroughs in self-driving cars
by companies such as Google, GM,
BMW, Audi, etc., it is not hard to
picture this happening in the coming years.
Q You saidthat roboticindustrialtrucks would likely be the entry point for
robots. Why is that? Why are we likely
to see driverless forklifts in a warehouse
before humanoid robots?
A While building a fully driverless fork- lift will be a great challenge, developing a humanoid robot to work in a warehouse will be even more difficult. Modern
forklifts offer a robust, inexpensive, and
well-designed physical platform to eventually automate with computers, sensors,
and vision systems. There are several large
forklift manufacturers with strong sales
and support networks that could possibly
deploy and maintain a robot forklift fleet.
In the case of a humanoid robot, there is
still no strong physical hardware platform
to start with and few large companies
produce them. Most humanoid robots
are currently prototypes or focused on
light-duty manufacturing. More robust
humanoid robotic systems with large
support networks need to be developed
before we can even think of applying them
to warehouse applications. The modern
forklift has a head start over humanoid
robots since it is already a hardened piece
of warehouse equipment with the relatively easy task of moving standard pallets
rather than the more difficult humanoid
tasks that require the handling of a wide
range of dissimilar items.
Q Do you expect humanoid robots to replace warehouse workers or to work
alongside human workers in warehousing?
AMy personal belief is that robots will work alongside human workers.
People are very, very good, and we keep
making them better. Anyone who has
spent more than a day in a distribution
center will see that it is a very dynamic
environment that requires adaptability,
flexibility, quick thinking, and creative
problem solving. Similar to a WMS or
conveyor system, robots will be a tool
that the smart warehouse team will use to
improve its operation. At the end of the
day, a supply chain is only as good as the
people who work within it, and therefore,
the need for talented and motivated people will never disappear.
