With the adoption of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) still in early days, many are wondering if these flexible automation tools are a good fit for them. Often we hear questions like: How can AMRs help get more product out the door? How do companies get started with AMRs? What types of applications are best suited to mobile robots and how are small-to-medium-sized businesses deploying mobile robots?
To answer these and other burning questions, the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) & Robotics Industries Association (RIA) convened a panel of industry experts that included Waypoint CEO Jason Walker and executives from MIR, AutoGuide, Locus, Otto, and FedEx. The resulting round-table explored AMR technology and potential use-cases while offering viewers expert advice on how and when to deploy mobile robots:
As part of the webinar, each company showed great examples of mobile robot application. Waypoint offered a first look at a recent project for NorthShore Care Supply, an Illinois based e-commerce distributor specializing in adult diapers. NorthShore turned to Waypoint AMRs and Numina Group WES-WCS Advanced RDS Voice Picking System to multiply output while retaining their valued, existing workforce. To accomplish this, Waypoint Vector 3D HD autonomous mobile robots with Kingpin were deployed to pick up high-capacity custom carts that workers now use for picking with the flow optimized by Numina’s RDS system. The robots are moving continuously and autonomously charging at EnZone wireless charge stations.
Early results show workers nearly tripling their order picking throughput as compared with manual picking using metro carts. And workers were engaged from the start so they not only immediately could pick more but also refine their picking processes to get the most out of the system.
Register via the A3 website to access a recording of the webinar and check out the RIA Robotics Online blog for a full summary and transcript.
Reach out to us for more information on this application or any questions on Waypoint’s fleet of AMRs including Vector & MAV3K.
