DC Velocity - June 2017

Warehouse drones: Pinc understands that for inventory technology to be truly effective, it must be autonomous. For that reason, the company has developed autonomous drones that are programmed to scan bar codes for cycle counting and other inventory purposes.

This frees up an operator to direct the drone.

The drone can be programmed to perform a particular mission, such as scanning the inventory in a certain rack area. The drone then takes off and performs the task, returning to a designated point once the job is completed. The unit uses vision and mapping software to guide itself around the warehouse safely.

Pinc is also working to deploy small hydrogen fuel cells to power drones, which would allow flight times to be about four times longer than with the current lithium batteries. In addition, the company is developing new sense-avoid technology that will provide 360-degree monitoring and special awareness to the drones to prevent collisions with people as well as static and moving objects within a building. (Pinc, www.pinc.com)

Routing/scheduling solution: Paragon Software Systems Inc. has launched the latest version of its advanced routing and scheduling solution. Version 6.0 includes a number of enhancements across both the Planning and Paragon Live modules to provide customers with the highest-quality transport plans and operational insight, the company says.

Among other features, Version 6.0 is the first Paragon system to feature the planning tool “Route Control,” which helps mitigate the impact of time-sensitive route restrictions on routing and scheduling. This unique software functionality makes it possible to build routes that comply with time- and day-related local, state, and national regulations, and road closures resulting from major public events. This will allow transport planners to cut the time spent on manual planning and avoid unnecessary operational delays.

Meanwhile, transport businesses looking to integrate their vehicle tracking system with routing and scheduling software can now benefit from improvements to Paragon Live, the suite of modules designed to improve planned versus actual performance. This includes an auto-correction tool that will refine the exact positions of delivery locations, based on actual tracking events, to automatically improve the accuracy of plans and arrival times communicated to customers. Enhancements to reporting and new telematics interfaces are included as well. (Paragon Software Systems Inc., www. paragontruckrouting.com)

Dock solutions: Rite-Hite has added two new safety products to its Rite-Vu Light Communication Systems family: Pedestrian-Vu for the dock’s interior and Approach-Vu for its exterior.

Inside the dock area, Pedestrian-Vu uses motion-sensing technology to trigger a bright blue light that projects onto the dock leveler when it detects material handling equipment or a pedestrian’s presence inside the trailer. Pedestrian-Vu also works in conjunction with Dok-Lok products to alert any dock worker or forklift that enters an unsecured trailer. The blue light flickers as an audible alarm notifies the dock worker that the trailer is unsafe to enter, while the external light system simultaneously changes to red, warning the truck driver that there is activity inside the trailer.

Outside the dock opening, the new Approach-Vu sensor detects the motion of a tractor-trailer backing into a dock position. A visual and audible alarm located on the Dok-Lok vehicle restraint alerts dock workers and pedestrians of the impending danger. This multisensory alert system is particularly important because ambient noise often masks the sound of a cab’s engine, which can be 70 feet or more from the back of the trailer.

The complete four-part Rite-Vu system features Corner-Vu, Leveler-Vu, and the newest technologies, Approach-Vu and Pedestrian-Vu. This combination of components uses motion detection, line-of-sight notification, and audible alarms to provide hazard recognition and communication to people on and off of forklifts.