inbound
Most logistics professionals see the forklift truck as an
essential tool for moving pallets around a distribution
center or loading trailers at the loading dock. However,
a team of engineering students in Somerville, Mass.,
had a different application in mind when they pur-
chased a used forklift online: providing the power plant for
a six-legged rideable robot they call “Stompy.”
The plan began taking shape in 2012 when students enrolled in a robotics
class at Artisan’s Asylum, a Boston-area community workshop and fabrica-
tion studio, chose the walking robot as their class project, according to the
Project Hexapod blog.
They soon realized the vehicle would need a powerful engine to pump
pressurized hydraulic fluid to all of its joints, so the group purchased a used
Toyota FGC- 45 forklift built in 1991, tore out the motor, and mounted it on
the robot’s insect-shaped steel frame.
The students said the propane-fueled motor was ideal both for its strength,
with enough power to heft 10,000-pound loads in the warehouse, and for its
six-hour runtime. Soon, the 135-horsepower forklift motor had the 4,000-
pound, 18-foot-diameter robot moving through the test phase.
Outdoor tests using remote controls began in July. The students hope
Stompy will carry its first human test-pilots this fall.
Now grown to a squad of 19 roboticists, engineers, designers, and fabricators, the student group has attracted industry sponsors like Barrett
Technologies, Dalton Hydraulics, and Tompkins Industries. The group has
raised funds through an online Kickstarter campaign and posts frequent video
updates on its You Tube and Facebook pages.
When they consider the best ways to deliver large parcels on narrow streets,
logistics and transportation companies have limited options. Big trucks can’t
fit around corners or squeeze through narrow lanes, while couriers on foot
have a limited range.
UPS thinks it has found a perfect compromise. The company is now
expanding a pilot program that uses bicycles boosted by electric motors to
navigate the winding lanes of Europe’s congested cities.
The transportation and logistics giant has begun testing battery-aided cargo
bikes for package delivery in downtown Basel, Switzerland, after achieving
success with a similar program in Hamburg, Germany.
The vehicles, which have a load capacity of two cubic yards and a cargo
weight limit of 330 pounds, measure just three feet wide—ideal for handling
the heavy traffic and tight turns demanded for city-center delivery.
To help its drivers balance the weight, UPS added a third wheel on the rear
axle. When empty, the cargo tricycles weigh just 250 pounds, including the
250-watt battery.
If the concept catches on, the program could have both economic and
ecological benefits, such as reducing inner-city congestion, noise, and carbon
dioxide emissions. The new delivery vehicles also have the potential to streamline UPS’s urban delivery operations by trimming the time spent searching for
parking spots, the company said.
Electric cargo bikes deliver the goods in Europe
MHI, the industry association
for the material handling and
associated industries, will hold
its Executive Summit & Annual
Conference from Oct. 4–7 at the
Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra
Beach, Fla. This marks the first
time that nonmembers of MHI
have been invited to attend as
well as the first time that MHI
Solutions Groups will hold meetings on automation and information systems with both suppliers
and users of those systems.
The summit and conference will
focus on four main subject areas:
workforce development; inventory optimization for omnichannel
fulfillment; automation and big
data, including their impact on
supply chains; and investing in
material handling solutions for
future success.
MHI says attendees will have
a chance to learn firsthand from
leaders in the supply chain and
material handling fields about
techniques and tools they can use
to transform their supply chain
processes.
Speakers for the executive
summit include David Roberts
of Singularity University, David
Simchi-Levi of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, and
Patrick Murzyn of Caterpillar Inc.
Keynote speakers for the confer-
ence include David Butler of the
Coca-Cola Co., Jason Schenker
of Prestige Economics LLC, Paul
Dittmann of the University of
Tennessee, and Mike Rowe of
the television series “Somebody’s
Gotta Do It” and “Dirty Jobs.”
To register, visit http://www.
mhi.org/fall2015/index.cshtml.
MHI annual
meetings now open
to equipment users
Forklift engine gives robot its “stomp”
