Big Joe Pallet Mover automates workflows through a simple user-directed interface
Big Joe Forklifts has seen a tremendous response to its recently launched Pallet Mover, a new user-directed autonomous mobile robot (AMR), and is showing off its newest features at Automate 2023. Developed in partnership with Thoro.ai, the Big Joe Pallet Mover is an easy-to-deploy autonomous solution for floor-to-floor pallet transportation and drop-off that companies can set up and begin operating in less than one hour after receipt.
New Pallet Mover AMR features that will be introduced at Automate 2023 include dynamic mapping, map sharing, and zone drop functionality to further enhance the product’s capabilities and thereby increase potential use cases and return on investment for customers. Dynamic mapping allows the Big Joe Pallet Mover to update onboard facility maps on the fly to keep up with changing environments and thus reduces map depreciation and the need to frequently remap areas of operation. As multiple Pallet Movers working in the same facility adapt to changes, users can now utilize a new map-sharing feature via Wi-Fi to update all units and efficiently maintain performance across a fleet.
“AMRs bring so many benefits to the modern warehouse, and The Pallet Mover from Big Joe offers functionality, dependability, and a point of entry to automation that doesn’t require any enterprise-wide software or extensive training to get up and running,” said Big Joe’s Chief Marketing Officer, Bill Pedriana. “With the new features being released this week and our simple implementation process, our focus remains on empowering workers and eliminating the need for complicated systems integration.”
In addition to enhanced mapping capabilities, the new zone drop feature being introduced at Automate 2023 greatly enhances the Pallet Movers’ ability to do what it does best. That is to autonomously travel to a destination and deliver pallets to preset locations. When the zone drop feature is used, the Pallet Mover will take a load to a predefined area in a facility having multiple pallet delivery locations and will place a pallet in the first open spot based on sequential order – even if they are not in one continuous row or adjacent to one another.
“Given my experience vetting manufacturers that have begun adopting autonomous technology, I can tell you first-hand that the new features we are introducing will eliminate a lot of severe headaches and costs for our customers,” said Big Joe’s Autonomous Division General Manager Nick Malewicki. “None of my suppliers, when I was a customer of automation, could deal with the high level of change in areas like receiving docks without the need for hard infrastructure or an industrial engineer being regularly involved. Our focus on making this machine as easy to deploy as it is to use and where we are at with these new features is such a huge step change from where the industry has been stuck for years.”
The Big Joe Pallet Mover features an intuitive tablet interface, LiDAR, and a camera system to transport and drop pallets to locations autonomously once the operator initiates it and selects a mission. This collaborative approach uses self-driving technology as a productivity force multiplier by allowing workers to focus on higher-value tasks or direct multiple independent workflows concurrently. Initial pricing for the Pallet Mover is set at $65,000 plus tax and freight per unit inclusive of deployment, initial training, and a robust three-year autonomous software and support subscription.
