Pick robot launched for warehouse automation

SSI Schaefer has launched a new robot, SSI Robo-Pick, for warehouse automation that can carry out up to 2,400 picks per hour. The company claims it is the first fully automatic picking robot.

Picking,or putting together an individual item selection for a customer, is the most demanding task of warehouse automation.

All attempts to make order picking through pick automation more cost-effective and simpler have so far failed because of the lack of flexibility in image processing, says the company.

SSI Schaefer solved this problem with a technological breakthrough through an innovative combination of 3D and 2D image processing techniques to develop the SSI Robo-Pick. The pick robot is now doing the monotonous work that was previously left to employees in the warehouse.

So that the right article arrives at the customer, the SSI Robo-Pick uses a combination of load carriers and articles that already exist in every automated warehouse. Each carton, tray or container – the load carrier – is always assigned an item. The multilevel monitoring of the entire process also leads to an almost error-free picking result.

The application of SSI Robo-Pick is not limited to order picking. For example, it is also  suited for returns processing – an area of ​​logistics that is becoming increasingly important, especially in the mail order business.