Pennsylvania Patent of the Month – April 2023
The rise of e-commerce has resulted in increasing demands on warehousing employers to reduce costs and delivery times, which has, in turn, led to the exploration of automation as a means of achieving these goals. IAM Robotics LLC has developed autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that can work alongside human employees to streamline the put-away and picking process, thereby improving efficiency and reducing costs.
One of the biggest challenges facing warehouse employers is the national labor shortage of workers to fill these positions. For employees, the increased pick rates and hours can lead to unhappy workers and high rates of work-related injuries. IAM Robotics’ solution is to provide AMRs that can work side-by-side with human pick workers to increase the accuracy and efficiency of that automation within a logistics facility. The AMRs can be configured to dynamically respond to changes in pick or put-away volume and available manual labor, making them a flexible solution for warehouses of all sizes.
IAM Robotics’ AMRs also address the challenges of locating inventory items within the warehouse, particularly as the size of the facility and inventory grows. Their AMRs are equipped with a finite set of markers that are distributed across a 3-D logistics facility map of indefinite span in each axis for the purpose of robot localization, mapping, and region of interest segmentation. This allows the robot to accommodate its navigational deficiencies and improve accuracy when picking items.
What sets IAM Robotics’ solution apart is its ability to use existing shelving and racks without requiring significant modifications to the warehouse infrastructure. This is a significant advantage over current automation equipment, which generally requires a substantial investment from the facility and may not be viable for retail centers. With IAM Robotics LLC’s AMRs, warehouses can increase efficiency and reduce costs without disrupting their existing operations.
IAM Robotics LLC’s AMRs offer an innovative and flexible solution for warehouse automation that can work alongside human employees to increase efficiency and accuracy in picking and put-away processes. With their ability to use existing infrastructure, the cost of implementation is significantly reduced, making it an accessible solution for warehouses of all sizes. As the demands of the e-commerce industry continue to grow, IAM Robotics’ AMRs will undoubtedly play a crucial role in helping warehouse employers meet these challenges head-on.
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