DC Velocity - May 2020

38 DC VELOCITY MAY 2020 www.dcvelocity.comin the United States by the end of 2020. The company hassystems running across Europe and in Japan, and countsFrench grocery retailer Carrefour and Japanese apparelretailer Uniqlo among its biggest customers. Baulard addsthat small systems can be up and running in as little as sixweeks but notes that typical system installations have alonger planning and implementation phase—between fiveand eight months.

He adds that Exotec’s software, which uses computer
modeling and mathematical algorithms to expedite order
preparation, is a key differentiator as well.

“This is a pure goods-to-person system,” Baulard said
during a demonstration of the system at Modex. “There
Baulard explains that Exotec’s software evaluates and
schedules orders every two to three minutes, based on
customers’ pre-set parameters and priorities. In picking
operations, the robots travel to the racking struc-
ture, where they attach to the uprights and move
vertically to retrieve items stored in totes. The
Skypod robots then move freely to the desig-
nated picking area, where workers pick items
from the totes for individual orders.

Baulard says the system is unique and

if a robot is down, you simply take it out of

the system and continue working. There’s no

need for the entire system to be shut down
for maintenance.
The Skypod system is also faster than a typical shuttle sys-
tem, according to Baulard, who says it’s capable of moving
between 800 and 900 totes per hour.

But it doesn’t have to work that fast. Baulard emphasizesthat the system is versatile and designed to adjust to higheror lower volumes as needed. Along those lines, the company is developing a rental program that will allow customersto temporarily add robots to the system to accommodatepeak-season demands.

FINE-TUNING THE PIECE-PICK

Robotic piece-picking solutions are gaining steam as well,
and many companies displayed the latest advances they’re
bringing to the table during Modex 2020. Massachusetts-
based RightHand Robotics (RHR) was one of them, show-
casing its RightPick2 piece-picking solution for order
fulfillment. The newest iteration of the system includes
RHR’s fifth-generation intelligent gripper as well as artifi-
cial intelligence (AI)-based vision processing software and
machine learning. The solution, which includes a commer-
cial robotic picking arm, picks and places individual items
using a combination of gripping and suction technology.

One example of the new technology RHR is bringing tothe table: a side camera that helps the robotic arm adjust tohow an item is situated in a tote so that it can more accurately pick and place the item to avoid damage—just as ahuman would do.

“We’re developing next-level skills,” explains RHR’sVince Martinelli, head of product and marketing. Hepoints to the firm’s RightPick Control Center as yet another example of next-level advances. The software programintegrates with any commercial warehouse managementsystem (WMS), he explains, to help customers monitor andmanage their fleet of RightPick robots. The program’s fleetmanagement dashboard allows customers to drill downinto fulfillment exceptions and then pinpoint inefficienciessuch as an empty stock tote, a missing receiving tote, oritems that can’t be picked through automation.

“More and more of our time is [spent] on the challengesof managing fleets of robots,” Martinelli explains, addingthat RHR continues to work closely with WMS providersand integrators to ensure seamless integration into a widerrange of material handling systems.

PERFECTING PICK-BY-VISION

German pick-by-vision solutions provider Picaviintroduced its Picavi Cockpit business intelligence solution during the Modex conference, showcasing the system’s ability toprovide a “smart guide” that can help usersbetter manage and utilize Picavi’s “smartglasses” technology.

“With Picavi Cockpit, we are taking thenext step in vision warehousing. The solution provides features for the generation ofsmart data as well as the uncomplicated administrationand maintenance of smart glasses,” according to JohannaBellenberg, Picavi’s director of marketing and communications.

Essentially, Picavi Cockpit is a digital enhancement tothe company’s pick-by-vision system, which uses GoogleGlass technology to guide workers through the pickingprocess. Wearing a pair of lightweight glasses, workersremain hands-free, receiving real-time order informationvia the glasses, which show them where to pick, scan, andplace items (photo). The system can also incorporate “ringscanners” for use in environments where items are hard toaccess or far away. Worn on the worker’s finger, the ringscanners are connected to the smart glasses via Bluetoothtechnology, and they likewise indicate where to pick, scan,and place items.