AI Archives - Material Handling Wholesaler

Getting started with AI-Powered Chatbots

Sun, 20 Oct 2024 05:00:51 +0000

You’ve heard the buzz around Generative AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. But are they worth the hype? Absolutely. The key to success is learning how to use these tools effectively. With the correct instruction, chatbots can produce detailed, relevant, and tailored results to your specific requirements. No technology expertise is required to become a pro – just a curiosity for exploration. It would be best to learn how to “prompt,” which means providing good instructions to the chatbot, so you get more valuable responses and output. Start with basic experimentation to understand where AI works well (and not well). From there, you can explore how to integrate AI into your workflows to tackle more complex needs. This article will explore using chatbots and provide tips for effective prompting. Where should you start? Many robust use cases are simple and require no prior experience or specific expertise. Start by asking your chatbot the same questions you’d ask a search engine – in many cases, you’ll find the responses more useful. Chatbots can provide personalized, context-aware answers tailored to your criteria. Plus, follow-up questions help refine responses to get exactly what you need. For instance, chatbots can quickly propose a customized travel itinerary, saving you the hassle of researching online. Try out this prompt: I’m flying from [home city] to [destination city] from [start date] to [end date] and want to stay near [insert landmark or area]. I prefer a direct flight and to stay in [insert hotel preference, e.g., preferred hotel chain], but I’m open to alternatives if the price difference is more than [$XX] for the flight or [$XX]/night for the hotel. Please recommend an itinerary, including the best flight times. More prompt ideas are provided at the end of this article. Tips for prompting Chatbots Chatbots respond to “prompts”—instructions or questions you provide. Here are a few tips for writing effective prompts: Speak naturally Ask questions as if you’re talking to a person. This makes it easier for the chatbot to understand and respond accurately. And don’t worry overly about spelling; it will figure it out. Be clear and specific Treat the chatbot like a new employee who needs clear instructions. The more specific you are, the better the response. Example: Instead of “Plan a meeting,” try to “Create an agenda for a 30-minute meeting to discuss quarterly sales targets.” Utilize follow-ups Think of chatbot interaction as a conversation. If the first response isn’t quite right, refine it with follow-up prompts or ask it to try again. Example: “Incorporate a 10-minute Q&A session at the end of the meeting” or “Your response is not to my liking; try again.” Set context To get better responses, tell the chatbot what kind of role, tone, or personality you want it to have. Example: Instead of “Create a marketing campaign,” say, “You are a senior marketing director. Create a professional B2B marketing campaign for warehousing and logistics.” Specify the desired output Let the chatbot know how you want the information presented. It can provide summaries, bullet points, tables, or even images. Example: Instead of “Tell me about the project,” try “Give me a bullet-point summary of the project timeline.” Attach relevant documents Quickly and effectively analyze files, especially documents and PDFs, by attaching them to your prompt. Example: Instead of manually analyzing a customer or vendor contract, attach it to the chatbot and use this prompt: “Summarize the key terms, pricing, and product details in the attached contracts, and provide the output in a bullet form.” Experiment with your scenarios and prompts; the more you try different ways, the better you will get. A reminder While chatbots are powerful, be cautious with data confidentiality. Unless you implement the enterprise version of these chatbots, your data and chat history may be used to train AI models. Final thoughts AI-powered tools, like chatbots, have the potential to deliver efficiency, personalization, and insights at an unprecedented scale. However, success with AI isn’t just about the tools themselves. It starts with understanding how to apply these technologies effectively. Focus on small, practical use cases as you begin experimenting with AI. These could include simple communication, generating content, or automating routine tasks. Over time, this knowledge will open the door to more complex applications, such as predictive analytics or customer service automation. Your business will thrive in the new AI-driven landscape by starting small, experimenting thoughtfully, and staying informed about AI’s evolving capabilities. If you have any questions or need help getting started, please contact me at ai_automation@connorgp.com. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn for the latest trends and insights in AI and automation. Useful prompting tool ChatGPT Prompting Guide (Ruben Hassid, LinkedIn) Example prompts To get started, here are some example prompts you can try today. Update the wording in [brackets] according to your needs and enter them into your chatbot of choice: Writing an Email “Write an email as a [job title] to [name], informing them of [topic]. Use a [desired tone].” Completed Example: “Write an email to John as an Account Manager, informing them about the XAR32, a new forklift that your company is offering, and to offer an on-site demo at their warehouse. Use a warm yet professional tone.” Prepare a “How-To” Guide “You are an experienced [job title]. Give me best practices and a detailed how-to guide on [insert topic]. The guide should cover [insert desired sections].” Example: “You are an experienced Warehouse Manager. Give me best practices and a detailed how-to guide on warehouse layout optimization for perishable food products. The guide should cover safety protocols and tips for energy efficiency.” Contract Review Prompt Attach the contract you’d like to review for a thorough contract analysis. Specify the key terms and clauses you want highlighted. The chatbot can also point out any unusual or non-standard terms for this type of agreement. “Review the attached [contract type] contract and highlight key terms such as [insert specific terms, e.g., payment terms, liability clauses]. Additionally, identify any clauses

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Emerson’s new edge solution for faster digital transformation

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 16:07:11 +0000

DeltaV Edge Environment provides a sandbox to deploy and run applications with easy, secure, contextualized data access Global technology and software provider Emerson has launched the DeltaV™ Edge Environment, a first-of-its-kind integrated software solution that expands the capabilities of the evolving DeltaV automation platform to provide an operational technology (OT) sandbox for data manipulation, analysis, organization, and more. Teams can deploy and execute applications to run key artificial intelligence (AI) engines and analytics close to the data source with seamless, secure connectivity to contextualized OT data across the cloud and enterprise. The DeltaV Edge Environment empowers teams to deliver operational improvements tied to productivity, sustainability, and other business objectives. Valuable data in intelligent devices, machines, and systems helps enable enterprise-wide analytics, expands operational insight, and feeds the AI engines catalyzing innovation. However, OT data is often trapped beneath layers of systems and networks, adding complexity and removing meaningful context. The DeltaV Edge Environment expands the horizons of the distributed control system (DCS), creating a secure data superhighway where users can seamlessly socialize contextualized data directly with cloud and enterprise applications while also leveraging a built-in execution sandbox—a testing environment for critical innovation tasks such as generating dashboards, running applications and training AI tools. “Operations and IT increasingly rely on data from the control system to optimize production and increase intelligence for OT improvements, sustainability, and other digital transformation initiatives,” said Claudio Fayad, vice president of technology for Emerson’s process systems and solutions business. “The DeltaV Edge Environment is the first step in defining the control system of the future, extending the DeltaV DCS with the capability to move data and configuration easily and securely while simultaneously empowering users to drive innovation as they safely run applications and scripts inside the DCS.” The DeltaV Edge Environment helps production teams meet their need to more easily and securely engage with automation data and manipulate it into actionable information to steer digital transformation. A single, encrypted, outbound-only flow of data helps authorized users ensure they have constant access to near real-time data without the risk of users accessing the control system—a common risk with traditional custom-engineered solutions. Users can run applications for visualization, analytics, alarm management, digital twin simulations, and other needs with the contextualized data available on the DeltaV Edge Environment. OT teams will know the rich data they use is a precise replica, always up to date and fully reflective of the current operating condition. The DeltaV Edge Environment leverages open, common protocols such as OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) to provide contextualized data while standard application programming interfaces like representational state transfer architectural style (REST API) and scripting tools like Python provide the sandbox environment in which users can design and run applications.

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Tompkins Robotics selected for Product of the Year Award

Tue, 05 Feb 2019 16:41:55 +0000

Tompkins Robotics’ t-Sort system has been selected by Modern Materials Handling, Material Handling Product News and Material Handling 24/7 as a winner of their fourth-annual Readers’ Choice Product of the Year Awards. t-Sort was the winning product in the category of conveyors and sortation. Tompkins Robotics is a business unit of Tompkins International. The Readers’ Choice Product of the Year Awards honor the achievements of companies for advances in materials handling systems and equipment within manufacturing, distribution centers and warehouses. The editorial teams at Modern Materials Handling and MHPN, “congratulate the award recipients, but the real winners are their customers, who have access to some of the best tools ever for improving safety, efficiency and productivity.” t-Sort is the first portable, automated material handling sortation system; creating a paradigm shift in how the distribution function of order fulfillment is accomplished. The t-Sort system performs much like a tilt tray or crossbelt sorter. However, the unique and exciting difference is it uses free moving, independent robots. This is the equivalent of having a tilt tray with no track allowing each robot to travel to any divert or induction station independently along the shortest path. This greatly enhances efficiency to maximize your operational capabilities. Robots, chutes, and induction stations can be added modularly at any time with no interruption or downtime. An additional robot can be added in seconds to increase capacity. A unique feature is that the system can be purchased on a seasonal or annual basis deferring the capital investment and fully utilizing the asset at all times. This is unlike a traditional sortation system that one buys for their long-term growth plan, purchasing excess capacity that may be underutilized for years. A typical installation takes only four to six months to go-live. A truly game changing aspect is the system is completely portable and can be relocated to a different space over a weekend. Some features include the range of unit handling, the range of sortation destinations and the configuration and expansion. The type of unit loads t-Sort can sort is very broad including apparel, shoes, cylindrical, and consumer products. t-Sort’s tilt angle and speed can be configured to individual products. t-Sort provides a positive and accurate sort to multiple destinations including shipping cartons, totes, gravity conveyor lines, chutes, bags, and gaylords. t-Sort components are modular allowing the system to increase its operational functionality as needed including the number of robots, sort points, increasing induction stations, and reconfiguring system size, shape and sort functions. “We are honored to be selected by material handling leaders as a product of the year. Tompkins Robotics’ t-sort system continues to find new applications as organizations define new opportunities for this agile, flexible, modular, portable automated solution and we continue to expand t-Sort’s capabilities,” stated Jim Tompkins, CEO, Tompkins International.

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The Case for Automation and Machine Tending

Michael Castor/Yaskawa America, Inc., Motoman Robotics Division — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 15:57:59 +0000

If you are in the machining business, the chances are pretty good that you’ve heard the adage, “if the machine isn’t running, you’re not making money.” While there is obviously more to keeping your business running, it’s true that your ability to make widgets for a customer relates directly to getting paid. If you want to increase revenue, you need to make more parts! Of course, there are limitations to how many parts you can make in a day, how many machines you have available, how long it takes to set up the machine, how long it takes to make a part, how much labor you have available, and how long your establishment is open. For example: let’s say a customer comes to you with a design and says, “I need 10,000 of these.” While this is an attractive scenario, especially if the customer is willing to pay an ideal price, you’ll need to dedicate a resource (or several) to load and unload the machine tool until the job is complete. Despite a full job schedule at your production facility, you decide this new opportunity is attractive enough to dedicate one resource to the new project. What happens, however, if this worker calls in sick or quits prior to the job completion? In this case, you’ll either redeploy your employees or scramble to find someone else to help. But, what happens if this keeps happening? What if I told you that you could have a 100% loyal employee that never calls in sick, is willing to work 24 hours a day without complaint, and thrives on doing the same thing over and over again? If you’re thinking this employee sounds like a robot, you’re spot on! Each year, hundreds of machine shops face scenarios like the one above and turn to robotic automation to keep their businesses competitive and moving forward. “But, robots are expensive!” you say. In reality, adding a robot to your machine tool has never been more affordable. Hiring an entry-level employee for $14 per hour will cost $28,000 per year for a 40 hour a week position, 50 weeks a year. However, the true cost of an employee can easily be 1.25 to 1.4 times that once taxes and benefits are factored into the mix. A $14 per hour employee can easily cost your business $35,000 to $40,000 per year, which depending on complexity, is in the range of a robotic solution, including safety peripherals and a gripper. Sure, it’s an investment! But, think about it. This “employee” won’t call in sick, change over time, and will work 24 hours per day, when the job demands it. Yaskawa Motoman robots have been proven to work for 15 to 20 years (sometimes, more, especially if a proper maintenance schedule has been followed), so you could realistically amortize a robot out over five years without a problem. At that point, even a $50,000 robotic solution will only cost you $10,000 a year (or $5 an hour if it kept to the same 40 hour a week, 50 week a year schedule). “But robots are hard to program!” you declare. Again, in reality, this isn’t the case. With a touchscreen teach pendant, programming has never been more straightforward. The intuitive touchscreen controls and patented Smart Frame technology make robot setup and jogging a snap, even for novice robot users. In fact, with minimal training, teaching a robot via the intuitive Smart Pendant is almost as easy as jogging a CNC mill (and in some cases easier). “But robots are taking our jobs!” you scream. Well, how many minimum wage employees do you have who are willing to constantly and reliably load and unload a machine for years on end? How long does it take you to find another employee if one leaves? If you seriously think about it, and you are able to meet the needs of a customer by fulfilling a 10,000 unit job, what’s stopping you from getting more orders like that? It’s possible, you may need more machine tools, more employees to use said tools, and even more employees to sell and market the capabilities of your shop, etc. But, before you know it, you’ve expanded your business and hired several more employees – all because you hired a robotic “assistant” for the equivalent of $5 per hour. And, once this job is over, the robot can always be redeployed for other repetitive loading/unloading tasks. If you ask me, that’s a return on investment I can get behind! Of course, there are some things industrial robots are not good at, like smaller runs and jobs requiring a lot of variety. This is when a talented machinist is greatly needed. Moreover, a person that’s good at operating machine tools is the ideal person to send to robot training, so he or she can be redeployed as a robot operator for large runs at your production facility. If your job shop has encountered this situation or you are interested in finding out more about what adding a robot to your workforce can do for your business, just give our dedicated team of experts and engineers a call. Michael Castor is Product Manager, Material Handling – Yaskawa America, Inc., Motoman Robotics Division

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DHL Supply Chain invests $300M to accelerate integration of emerging technologies

Fri, 30 Nov 2018 06:00:00 +0000

350 of its 430 facilities to receive a technology upgrade

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North American Robotics orders to non-automotive Companies surge to new records

Thu, 29 Nov 2018 06:00:00 +0000

North American robot orders to non-automotive companies surged to record highs through the first nine months of 2018, according to Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the industry’s trade group. Traditionally, the automotive industry (OEMs and tier suppliers) has accounted for over 60% of the North American market, but that number is down to 52% through September, with non-automotive orders at 48%, the closest these two segments have been in the history of RIA’s reporting that dates back to 1984. A total of 22,708 robots valued at $1.31 billion were ordered in the first nine months, down 17% in units and 11% in revenue from the same period in 2017. The 10,878 units ordered by non-automotive companies were 24% higher than the previous record set last year. Orders to the automotive industry (OEM + tier suppliers) decreased 36% to 11,830 units through September. Among the non-automotive industries that set new records were life sciences (30% to 1,143 units), food and consumer goods (24% to 1,747 units), plastics and rubber (16% to 470 units) and electronics (14% to 1,280 units). RIA believes that as robots have become more dexterous, safer, and available in a variety of form factors they have become more appealing to new users in a wide variety of industries. “Despite the cyclical swing in automotive orders, which we’ve seen before, interest in new robotics technologies continues to grow,” said Jeff Burnstein, President of RIA. “Today’s robotics industry offers innovative products, competitive advantages, and fulfilling employment opportunities for a wide variety of companies. We’ve been saying for years that the future growth of robotics depended upon reaching beyond traditional customers in automotive, and now we’re finally seeing that happen on a broader scale.” A total of 28,158 robots valued at $1.39 billion were shipped to North American companies in the first nine months of 2018, an increase of nine percent in units but a decrease of seven percent in revenue over the same period in 2017, which held the previous record. Robot shipments are a historically accurate indicator of the number of robots delivered and installed by North American customers. Alternatively, robot orders provide a glimpse of future market expectations. Burnstein noted that RIA sees the rising interest in robotics reflected in the growth of its membership and networking events. In October, RIA reached a new membership milestone with 532 member companies from across the globe. The trade group also concluded its International Robot Safety Conference in Detroit and Collaborative Robots, Advanced Vision & AI Conference in Silicon Valley (co-hosted with RIA’s sister association AIA), which together had record attendance. With the advances in technology and emergence of new applications rapidly changing the robotics industry, RIA and its parent group the Association for Advancing Automation are expecting record participation at the Automate 2019 Show and Conference, April 8-11, 2019, at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois. “Small and medium sized companies, many of whom are just now beginning to explore automation, make up the core of the Automate 2019 attendee base,” said Burnstein. “Automate is designed to showcase the latest advances in robotics, machine vision, motion control, AI, and related automation technologies, while helping companies understand how to successfully apply them to meet their specific challenges.” The exhibition is free to attend, and registration is now open on the Automate 2019 website.

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Innovations shaping the future of work

Eric Lamphier at Manhattan Associates — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 06:00:00 +0000

Despite fears from some, robots aren’t going to take away all human jobs in the warehouse. A previous blog talked about how to better orchestrate man and machine. Today, let’s dive deeper into current technology trends that are making processes more nimble, scalable and sophisticated. They highlight two things. First, people and technology are going to work closer together than ever. And second, it’s critical to have a WMS with a vendor-agnostic WES built in so you can take advantage of all emerging innovations. The rise of Cobots One growing trend is with “cobots”, collaborative human-robotic work which allows both to use their best skills. In this scenario, the WMS assigns picking tasks to robots, as well as optimal travel paths. The robots, equipped with totes to receive the items, travel to the required locations and wait for nearby humans to carry out the item picking. The robots indicate their status with simple colored lights and are often equipped with intuitive touchscreens to support human instructions. Cobots combine robotics’ efficiency of movement with humans’ fine-motor skills and intelligence. This approach also has the benefit of scalability, allowing a company to apply as many robots and people as demand or the season requires. Goods-To-Person technology Another promising direction is goods-to-person (GTP) technology. Here, sophisticated, ultra-high-density product storage areas are set up in the DC with a series of stations and mini-shuttles. Robots, programmed to know where the products are located, retrieve all the cases or totes needed for a set of orders and bring them to a person at a fixed processing station. The person, in turn, takes the retrieved product and places it into recipient totes for order fulfillment. GTP can be especially effective with ecommerce orders because it allows retailers to maximize space utilization by carrying a large number of SKUs while still meeting rapid fulfillment service levels. Wearable efficiency One more emerging area is next-generation, wearable technology. Lightweight, ruggedized hardware – featuring graphical, intuitive touchscreens – are beginning to be paired with a headset, two-way voice communications and/or a heads-up display via smart glasses. The goal is to create a high-tech worker who can execute work more efficiently than ever before – with minimal training required. It works by having the WMS display information like item images, highlighted product picking locations and specific processing instructions. The system can also verbally communicate through the headset – even sending the worker audible instructions that coach them through step-by-step DC workflows. Pre-pare for next generation technology The ways work is done is changing rapidly, as humans and technology are brought closer together. Because DC operations vary so much, no single innovation will dominate the entire industry. Instead, many emerging technologies will continue to offer different advantages. That’s why it’s so crucial to choose a WMS with a vendor-agnostic WES like the one Manhattan Associates offers. It’s the only way to ensure that you’ll be ready no matter what opportunities develop. Now more than ever, a better operation starts with better technology. Next article, we’ll get into labor and management pain points and strategies to deal with them. Use our WMS ROI calculator to find out how much the right solution can potentially save you.

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500 Walnut Automates Parking with Westfalia Technologies

Wed, 31 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Leading manufacturer of parking systems unveils first-of-its-kind automated parking technology

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Fetch Robotics adds Cloud Expert to Executive Team

Mon, 29 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Fetch Robotics has announced that Tim Kimmet, former Vice President of Cloud Computing Platform at Walmart, has joined the company as Vice President of Engineering. Tim will lead Fetch’s growing hardware, software, and quality engineering teams, and scale Fetch’s Cloud Robotics Platform to support the complex warehouse and logistics environments in which Fetch’s Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) operate. “I was drawn to Fetch Robotics for its innovative cloud-based approach to robotics, and the opportunity to advance the development of a platform that brings the advantages of cloud computing to the edge,” said Kimmet. “As Fetch’s on-demand automation solution continues to penetrate the market, there is a great opportunity to utilize cloud computing to support on-demand scalability for the many different workflows and scenarios that exist in warehouse and logistics facilities.” Tim brings a wealth of experience to Fetch having developed some of the most impressive cloud computing infrastructures in the world. He comes to Fetch from Walmart, where he built cloud computing services to host Walmart’s global e-commerce and retail businesses domestically and internationally. He joined Walmart in 2011 and helped to establish the Walmart Labs brand, the technology arm of Walmart responsible for re-imagining retail for 260 million daily shoppers. At Walmart Labs, he revamped the company’s software development practices and culture with a focus on cloud-ready platforms and on-demand scalability. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have one of the foremost experts on cloud computing join our team,” said Melonee Wise, CEO of Fetch Robotics. “Our customers will benefit from Tim’s deep technical experience and leadership skills as we continue to grow our team and extend our cloud robotics platform.” Prior to Walmart, Tim was Chief Engineer at PayPal and eBay, leading both companies’ transformations to cloud-based architectures. Tim is a former board member and current advisory council member of CodeChix, a women’s engineering organization. He is the co-author of Core Java Web Server.

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Missing persons: Behind the shift to DC Automation

Peter Schnorbach at Manhattan Associates — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0000

By now, we know that e-commerce is driving change in distribution centers. Our previous blogs on Order Streaming looked at this trend from a fulfillment standpoint. But the emergence of omnichannel commerce has affected warehouses from a labor perspective as well. We’re going to discuss the strong, enduring trends that are affecting the workforce and pushing companies to increasingly lean on robotics and automation. A shrinking labor pool The world may be moving toward more and more self-service technology, but when it comes to warehouses the need for workers has never been greater. A booming economy – with record-low overall unemployment rates – challenges companies when it comes to hiring. According to ARC Advisory Group, 50% of all warehouse job openings have five or fewer applicants. And of those applicants, half have no prior experience. It’s clear that standards have been lowered simply to fill roles. All the while, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that warehouse hiring will increase 7% per year for the next 10 years. Another challenge is retention, particularly when it comes to Millennials. According to a Pew Research poll from April 2016, two-thirds of Millennial workers said they plan on leaving their current organization by 2020. As a result, some employers have tried to get creative offering a “stay bonus” to workers, more time off or flexible hours – all in an effort to decrease turnover. A boom in DC construction As the need for people continues, the shortage is magnified with every new warehouse that is built. And there are a lot of warehouses being built. Based on Moody’s Analytics data, 655 million square feet of warehouse space will be added by 2019, which is the second-largest period of warehouse expansion ever. The largest immediately preceded it, with 833 million square feet added from 2014-2016. In total that’s nearly 1.5 billion square feet of DC space built from 2014 to the end of 2019. So, if there is a labor shortage now, just imagine what it will be like when all the new warehouses are ready to go on line. Turning to automation Here’s the situation: more orders are flowing through more warehouses, with tighter delivery windows, and fewer people than ever to do the work. Faced with those realities, companies have no choice but to try and become less dependent on labor by putting a greater focus on robotics. According to a 2018 Manhattan Associates survey of 425 companies around the world, 99% said their organization is already using automation for fulfillment in the warehouse to some extent. And investments in that area continue to increase. It’s clear that machines in the warehouse are going to continue to grow more prevalent. To learn more about how the labor crunch could affect your business, watch our thought leadership video.

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Honeywell Partners with Fetch Robotics to deliver Autonomous Mobile Robots to distribution centers

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Honeywell has announced a strategic collaboration with Fetch Robotics to provide distribution centers with autonomous mobile robots to help them more effectively fulfill growing volumes of e-commerce orders. The initiative enables Honeywell Intelligrated’s customers to increase productivity and boost labor efficiency by deploying Fetch Robotics’ autonomous mobile robotics, which operate safely alongside people to transport items through distribution centers without human guidance or fixed paths. By adding this offering to its smart robotics portfolio, Honeywell Intelligrated can provide customers with a range of flexible automation solutions that can be tailored to address current and future operational needs. Honeywell Intelligrated previously announced its collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University to develop next-generation artificial intelligence and robotics technologies for distribution centers. The Fetch Robotics collaboration adds mobility capability to the portfolio of robotics solutions Honeywell is bringing to market. “As staffing challenges and the continued growth of online shopping are pressuring supply chains, robotics can be an effective solution to help make large, integrated distribution centers more efficient,” said Pieter Krynauw, president of Honeywell Intelligrated. “With this arrangement, we can provide our customers with a complete suite of fixed and mobile robotics solutions, backed by the expert systems integration, solutions development and reliable, 24/7 technical support they expect from us.” Fetch Robotics offers a range of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that use a combination of LiDAR and 3D cameras – similar to self-driving car technology – to navigate unpredictable warehouse environments safely and accurately. In the event of an obstacle, these robots can adjust routes in real time, unlike automated guided vehicle systems, which depend on pre-programmed, fixed paths. This enables the AMRs to take on repetitive warehousing tasks that may otherwise require significant travel time between locations and transporting heavy loads. Fetch Robotics’ solutions are also able to deploy and redeploy in just a single day without integration requirements or changes to infrastructure. “We are committed to helping customers achieve their productivity goals by providing on-demand automation that enables a wide range of flexible and safe AMRs to be rapidly deployed,” said Melonee Wise, CEO, Fetch Robotics. “We fully expect our relationship with Honeywell Intelligrated to help accelerate the adoption of our cloud robotics solution within the logistics and manufacturing verticals.” Companies are increasingly turning to robotics to gain competitive advantage in the supply chain, with adoption expected to rise from 34 to 73 percent over the next five years, according to a survey in the 2018 Material Handling Institute’s annual report. The study identified that the most common uses for robotics in warehousing operations include tasks like receiving and putting away inventory.

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MIT reshapes itself to shape the future including AI education, research and development

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Gift of $350 million establishes the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, an unprecedented, $1 billion commitment to world-changing breakthroughs and their ethical application.

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Department of Energy provides a $2 million grant in robotic partnership

Thu, 04 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0000

A research and development team will use the grant to develop a commercially viable autonomous hydrogen fueling station

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Unleash the power of computer vision and AI with ONETRACK.AI

Tue, 18 Sep 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Onetrack.AI makes humans more efficient than robots. This computer vision platform connects the physical to the digital world. It collects and process incredibly rich visual data in real-time using zero external infrastructure. It tracks, predicts, and interprets the actions of workers to provide all stakeholders in the warehousing process with direct feedback on how to maximize safety, increase throughput, and eliminate human error. Onetrack.AI is built on proprietary, vision-based technology, it increases the operational accuracy and efficiency of any warehouse with effortless installation on any forklift in minutes.

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OnRobot launches Quick Changer, the Industry’s Lightest, most compact Robotics Tool Changer

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 05:00:00 +0000

With Quick Changer, any operator can change the end-of-arm tooling on collaborative robots in a few seconds. Introduced next week at IMTS in Chicago, the new 200 g (7 oz.) tool changer is fully compliant with the ISO 9409-1 robot flange standard

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Energid Announces Partnership with Perceptron to implement Actin™ Software Development Kit (SDK)

Thu, 06 Sep 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Energid Technologies has announced a partnership with Perceptron, Inc. to utilize Energid’s Actin® software in Perceptron’s new in-line and near-line robotic inspection systems for the automotive industry. The Actin software development kit (SDK) offers significant advantages to companies looking to improve their time to market for robotics solutions in time-sensitive and competitive markets. Perceptron is a leading global provider of 3D automated metrology solutions and coordinate measuring machines. Energid develops industry-leading robotics control and simulation software that are known for stability, high performance and portability for industrial deployments. “Companies around the world rely on Perceptron’s metrology solutions to improve quality, shorten product launch times and reduce costs in complex manufacturing processes,” said Neil Tardella, Energid CEO. “Our development partnership with Perceptron is a perfect example of how Actin’s SDK can help system developers in a wide range of markets and applications develop products quicker and with greater functionality.” “We went through an extensive selection process before choosing Energid and its industry-leading software,” said Craig Manning, Perceptron’s Director of Software Engineering. “The Actin SDK provides us the flexibility to create a superior product, tailored specifically to the needs of our customers.” Robotic system developers can gain significant competitive advantages by integrating Actin directly into their proprietary solutions. The flexibility of the Actin SDK allows customers to create their own proprietary products. “Developers are facing significant new challenges as their customers demand more complex and precise robotic applications,” Tardella said. “These design challenges are impacting their ability to quickly bring new products to market. We’re especially seeing this in the very fast-growing market of vision-guided robotics applications, such as bin-picking, where Actin can provide significant time-to-market, cost and feature advantages for robotic system manufacturers.”

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Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) adds 6 distributors across North and South America to meet increasing demand for Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs)

Wed, 05 Sep 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), a global supplier of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), has announced five new distributors in the US, Mexico and Argentina to help meet the ever-increasing demand for its robots worldwide. MiR, whose North American sales account for nearly a quarter of its worldwide growth, added Allied Automation, based in Indianapolis, Indiana; Empire Automation System in Rochester, N.Y., known as MASEAS; Lydey Automation in Maumee and Brecksville Ohio; I3 Mexico in Monterey Mexico, Murten S.L.R., in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Macon, in Tierra del Feugo, Argentina. This brings the total number of MiR distributors to 143 in 40 countries. “Automating internal transport with mobile robots is proving to be a key element for manufacturers to optimize production and increase competitiveness,” said Ed Mullen, general manager – North America, Mobile Industrial Robots. “This is especially true within multinational corporations that have successfully tested our robots within a few facilities and now want to optimize their internal transportation throughout their plants worldwide. By expanding our distribution network throughout the US and Latin America, we can help even more companies reap the benefits.” Increased Demand Requires New Distributors, More Focus on Latin America MiR has grown quickly since its founding in 2013, with sales rising by 500 percent from 2015 to 2016, and 300 percent from 2016 to 2017. MiR added its second US office in San Diego this spring, which includes an entire team focused exclusively on growing sales in Latin America. “Not only are US companies benefiting from our autonomous mobile robots, but there is great potential for growth in Latin America, since many of our multinational customers in the automotive, consumer goods and electronics industries have production plants in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina,” Mullen added. “This provides distributors with ready-made customers, while providing local examples of successful use cases to share with potential customers to demonstrate how automating logistics with mobile robots is helping them save money and increase productivity overall.” MiR Showcases AMRs for Light and Heavy Transport Needs at IMTS 2018 Each member of the family of MiR AMRs is flexible, easy to program and safe for both heavy and light internal transport, enabling companies to optimize logistics throughout the entire production chain, from the warehouse to the delivery of goods. The MiR100 and MiR200 AMRs, which can autonomously transport up to 100 kg (220 lbs) and 200 kg (440 lbs) respectively, were joined in June by the MiR500, which satisfies the industry need for a bigger, stronger and faster AMR. MiR will demonstrate all three AMRs at the International Manufacturing Technology Show(IMTS 2018) at booth #121468. Demonstrations include: The new MiR500, with a lifting capacity of 500 kg (1102 lbs), which is designed to transport pallets in manufacturing floors and warehouses, and can automatically collect, transport and deliver pallets with speeds of 2 miles per hour. The MiR200 with a Universal Robots UR5 robot arm and OnRobot RG2 gripper, which demonstrates how the robots can pick up, autonomously transport and deliver circuit boards, allowing the UR5 to service multiple work stations. To meet the task’s precise requirements, the MiR200 connects to a docking station built into a stationary table. The MiR200 with a MiRHook, which can tow carts weighing up to 500 kg (1102 lbs). “Aligning with MiR was an easy call,” said Don David, president and CEO of Minuteman | Empire Automation Systems. ”Not only does MiR fit into our existing portfolio of high-tech products, but as an innovative and forward-thinking company, MiR exemplifies everything we look for in a strategic partnership. Its commitment to R&D and marketing will ensure that our customers end up with not just a quality product, but one that is flexible enough to meet the needs of an ever-shifting industrial landscape. The entire team at Minuteman | Empire Automation Systems is very excited to embrace MiR as we explore new opportunities with customers old and new.” According to Dan Lydey, president of Lydey Automation Company, “As so many of our customers are trying to apply collaborative robotics to automate their manufacturing processes, MiR provides a platform that offers a clear and short path to ROI with exciting new tools for productivity and growth. The robot interface is very intuitive, the autonomy and safety of the robot is impressive, and the handling capabilities are very industrial. MiR is a logical choice for our customers who would rather be spending less time learning, and more time using, collaborative robotics.”

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Improve supply chain management with AI technologies

Jonathan Wilkins, EU Automation — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Artificial intelligence (AI) can provide data to supply chain management (SCM) with predictive analytics and Big Data to help spot potential challenges and issues before they happen. Two steps for using AI and four potential problems are highlighted

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Honeywell, Carnegie Mellon University form strategic collaboration to advance supply chain robotics

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Collaboration focuses on next-generation machine learning and robotic controls to help distribution centers address rising e-commerce demands and resource challenges

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Caterpillar analytics aid product development

Rod Sutton at Construction Equipment — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Caterpillar is using artificial intelligence in its product-development process to simulate how operators might use a machine, cutting time out of the entire process, said chief analytics director Morgan Vawter in a recent Cat podcast. Caterpillar uses virtual reality in its design engineering, Vawter said, and the AI tool uses “reinforcement learning” to simulate how an operator might use a machine instead of telling the design model how the machine might perform. “Ultimately, that model gives us the power to reduce some of the steps in the product-development process and also makes sure we’re hitting better (product) quality because we’re seeing the full landscape of how an operator might use a machine without physically having to test it,” she said. “Analytics is truly enabling our business end-to-end in many different ways,” Vawter said. “It’s aligned closely to the profitable growth goals of our business units and industry segments. When we say growth, it’s all based on the ROI we see on the value and the potential ROI that we see in the future from all the data that we’re collecting.” Vawter described value from the perspective of Cat’s customers and the corporation itself. Customers benefit from data analytics with lower total cost of ownership, improved productivity, and improved safety. “For Caterpillar, it helps us get closer to customer needs, be more responsive and adaptive, make more data-driven decisions, and improve processes like (product development),” she said. Vawter said the company has increased its talent pool in the analytics arena by 20 to 25 percent in the past couple of years, citing the opening of its downtown Chicago office as a means to attract talent and work with local partners.

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