NEW LOGISTICS PRODUCTS & SERVICES
EDITED BY SUSAN LACEFIELD rollouts
Mobile tablets: Automatic identification technology companies
DAP Technologies and Omni-ID have launched a series of mobile
tablets that incorporate both active and passive radio-frequency
identification (RFID) reader capabilities—an industry first.
Companies no longer need multiple types of readers to accommodate their use of both passive and active RFID tagging to track
and locate assets. The DAP M9000 Series mobile tablets integrate
both active and passive RFID technology on a rugged device that
is suitable for harsh environments. The tablets are powered by DAP
mobility and Omni-ID active reader technology. The combination
of these technologies provides customers with a rugged, easy-to-use tablet that enables them to carry just one mobile device to
track assets, collect information, synchronize systems, report data,
and receive and respond to messages. (DAP Technologies,
www.daptechnologies.com; Omni-ID, www.omni-id.com)
Robotic AS/RS: The new UltraBot IE robotic automated storage
and retrieval system (AS/RS) from Integrated Systems Design
(ISD) efficiently delivers totes, boxes, and cases to one or more
high-speed order picking workstations.
The UltraBot IE works like this: An inserter/extractor moves up
and down the front of two- or three-tiered horizontal carousels,
automatically retrieving order items as it goes. It then delivers
them to a conveyor for routing to batch picking or dynamic
batching workstations, where
orders can be buffered until the
operator requires that pick.
Completed orders are automatically taken from the workstation and routed to the next
workstation or zone for further
processing.
A single UltraBot IE AS/RS can handle up to eight transactions
per minute or 480 transactions per hour. A three-carousel system
can handle up to 1,440 transactions per hour. Systems with additional UltraBot IE robots and tiered carousels can boost throughput even higher.
The UltraBot IE AS/RS can accommodate many types and sizes
of cartons and totes. It is suitable for applications such as order
picking and fulfillment, order consolidation, returns and reverse
logistics, buffering, sorting, staging, kitting, and work-in-progress.
According to ISD, the system can reduce labor requirements by
up to two-thirds while delivering accuracy levels of more than
99.9 percent. The system provides a lower acquisition cost and a
faster return on investment (ROI) than multishuttle, crane and
aisle, and typical robot systems, the manufacturer says.
(Integrated Systems Design, www.ISDDS.com)
