The robot has matured. In that maturation, it has spawned a network of collaboration, built around humans, artificial intelligence and productive workflows. That, in turn, creates a whole new set of challenges that robots and their human overlords are just beginning to grasp.
Or as Rob McKeel, CEO of logistics software provider FORTNA noted at a recent press event, “Today they’re not linear problems. They’re multidimensional problems.”
The parameters for robotics have been established. The variables of payload and mobility are well-defined and becoming increasingly finite. The use of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and enterprise software seamlessly connects orders to workers to shipping to delivery. The assembly line and the warehouse each find its work process changed. They also find the connection to each other strengthened and amplified to the benefit of the finished product and to the worker.
“Nobody is inventing a new robot,” said Dario Gallente, robotics and automation engineering manager for Angelini Technologies. “But now we can do more collaborative work, and in a safer environment.”
Fameccanica, which is an end-to-end integration division of Angelini Industries, has its solution that utilizes 3D vision systems and artificial intelligence to create a modular warehouse and distribution system. Papcik is an automated sorting system for parcels up to 5 kg, while Depax is a depalletizer platform to handle the arrival of mixed pallets with highly variable and unknown contents. ItPick is an automated system to handle parcels of different configurations and still perform up to 1,600 cycles an hour regardless of the parcel’s shape, color or materials.
The goal in these innovations, Gallente said, is to make the technology work for both the humans on the warehouse floor and the humans in the corner office. “How do you bring technology close to humans?” he noted. “Sometimes flexibility can help sustain the investment. That’s the main challenge. We want to start making people comfortable with the technology and the operation.”
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And sometimes it’s about making the technology more human in form as well as function. Agility Robotics has deployed Digit, a humanoid robot that grasps, bends, crouches, lifts and moves throughout a plant floor. Digit, like its human model, continues to evolve.
“Our focus with Version 4 of Digit was deploying it into facilities long term,” said Melonee Wise, chief product officer for Agility Robots. “Functional safety in North America is important. We have included charging dock, a longer run time, status indications and teach pendants. Through enterprise software, all of that is coming together and we’re adding functionalities and extended capabilities.”
Those extended capabilities are part of a strategic view of humanoid robots. They’re not as fast as AMRs on the plant floor, but they are multifunctional, which gives them a diverse skill set.
“Where you’re going to get the biggest lift is with robot movement and manipulations over relatively short distances, like 10-20 meters,” Wise said. You’re not going to see Digit outrun an AMR, but you will see Digit load or unload an AMR.”
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This relationship between humans and robots is at the core of operational strategy as well. A new report from MHI and Deloitte finds that outside of global economic factors, the top three issues facing supply chain executives are workforce and talent shortages (35%); supply chain agility and resiliency (28%); and inventory challenges (25%). To confront these issues, the survey found that 54% of supply chain executives plan to implement artificial intelligence in the next five years—and that’s on top of the 28% using AI today.
In the modern distribution center, the intersection of humans and robots continues to develop. And yet, there continue to be barriers to adoption that seem to focus on the short-term economics and less on the longer-term cost and safety management benefits.
The new MHI/Deloitte study finds that 31% of respondents said budget constraints were a barrier to the adoption of robotics and automation. That’s the highest of 11 technology areas surveyed. That also compares to just 14% who cite budget as a concern for AI adoption, even though AI’s primary role is in improving the efficiency of robotics and other plant floor tools.
Still, 41% of survey respondents currently use robotics in their material handling operation, and another 42% plan to adopt the technology in the next five years. While some products are best managed with human-focused technology, others are seeing the marriage of vision, robotics and data management to drive new innovations.
Some of that innovation is developed in-house, but other companies are using mergers and acquisitions to expand their technology reach and their customer base. Last fall, for example, Rockwell Automation acquired Ontario, Canada-based Clearpath Robotics Inc. to take advantage of the latter’s expertise in autonomous robotics. Part of the acquisition was OTTO Motors and its work in industrial automation.
Rockwell Chairman and CEO Blake Moret called the acquisition “a turning point for our customers around the world. Rockwell is simplifying and transforming the difficult yet critical function of material handling throughout the manufacturing plant with an end-to-end production logistics solution. Production logistics is key to optimizing operations across an entire facility and bringing the Connected Enterprise to life.”
In a press release announcing the acquisition, Rockwell quoted EY Americas Strategy and Transactions Advanced Manufacturing Leader Amar Mehta as saying, “Not only do AMRs connect islands of automation; they are often one of the final major elements that help manufacturers achieve autonomous production logistics, enabling significant value creation for the manufacturer and their customers.”
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FANUC is another robotics manufacturer that continues to evolve all product lines, including the smaller pick-and-pack applications. "By enhancing efficiency and increasing productivity, our wide variety of warehouse solutions are not only meeting the evolving needs of the industry but creating smarter and more rewarding warehouse jobs,” said Anthony Cantrell, executive director for warehouse and logistics at FANUC America in a press release.
For example, the FANUC M-10/12-14D industrial robot communicates with FANUC’s 3DV and 2D iRVision cameras, and an RFID reader to pick and identify various items for tote consolidation.
Pittsburgh-based Onward Robotics mixes its Lumabot AMRs and intelligent Pyxis technology, which optimizes the order-picking process by orchestrating the work of Lumabots and human pickers in the order fulfillment process. The wearable technology allows for individual product scanning, picking and fulfillment while verifying the selections and minimizing human error.
“We’re on a mission to revolutionize fulfillment, helping warehouses and distribution centers optimize their workflows, increase productivity and minimize the physical strain on workers,” said Onward Robotics CEO Lance Vanderbrook in a press release.
The human connection to robotics is important in other ways as well. As robotics and other technologies are adopted into manufacturing, the need to retrain an older existing workforce takes on greater importance. The MHI/Deloitte survey found upskilling current employees is the top action taken to address the surge in new technology, with almost two-thirds of respondents bridging their skills gap from within.
The MHI/Deloitte survey concluded that technologies, workforce and global economics all will converge in the coming decade. “The next 10 years will bring significant change in supply chain operations at both a national and global level. Increasing geopolitical shocks, technology adoption, monumental advancements in AI, autonomous operations, and a workforce that is increasingly digitally native will require capabilities that are enabled by end-to-end supply chain orchestration,” the survey noted.
Bob Vavra is the former senior content director of Machine Design and Power & Motion.