• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy
    • Terms of use
  • Advertise
    • Advertising
    • Case studies
    • Design
    • Email marketing
    • Features list
    • Lead generation
    • Magazine
    • Press releases
    • Publishing
    • Sponsor an article
    • Webcasting
    • Webinars
    • White papers
    • Writing
  • Subscribe to Newsletter

Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

  • Home
  • News
  • Features
  • Editorial Sections A-Z
    • Agriculture
    • Aircraft
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Automation
    • Autonomous Vehicles
    • Business
    • Computing
    • Construction
    • Culture
    • Design
    • Drones
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Engineering
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Humanoids
    • Industrial robots
    • Industry
    • Infrastructure
    • Investments
    • Logistics
    • Manufacturing
    • Marine
    • Material handling
    • Materials
    • Mining
    • Promoted
    • Research
    • Robotics
    • Science
    • Sensors
    • Service robots
    • Software
    • Space
    • Technology
    • Transportation
    • Warehouse robots
    • Wearables
  • Press releases
  • Events

Denso increases efficiencies with fleet of MiR250 autonomous mobile robots

December 7, 2022 by Mai Tao

Denso, one of the world’s largest automotive technology suppliers, says it has “increased efficiencies, improved employee morale and ergonomics, and managed a tight labor market” by deploying six MiR250 autonomous mobile robots to transport materials in its 800,000 square foot powertrain component production facility in Athens, Tennessee.

According to a new case study from Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), Denso has successfully executed more than 500,000 missions since deploying its first MiR robot in 2020, recognizing a return on investment (ROI) in less than a year along with an ongoing need for more AMRs for additional logistics applications.

One of MiR’s largest global customers, Denso has AMRs from MiR running in two other US locations, as well as three facilities in Europe and two in Asia.

According to Travis Olinger, a logistics and automation engineer at Denso, the company chose AMRs over automated guided vehicles (AGVs) because AMRs can navigate on their own with quick mapping and quick changes without the need for a costly infrastructure built into the facilities’ floor.

Olinger says: “Autonomous mobile robots were an obvious choice for our extremely dynamic environment, which we knew would require the robots to make regular route changes.

“After testing AMRs from a few different vendors, we realized that MiR robots bring significant advantages in flexibility, safety and user-friendliness.

“MiR stood out from the ability to use REST API calls to communicate with the robots; the intuitive nature of the MiR Fleet software; the ease of mapping; ease of mission creation, and ease of changing locations. MiR was just extremely intuitive compared to the other platforms we looked at.”

Olinger said the MiR250 robots were particularly compelling because of their two-meters-per-second speed, the payload of 250 kilograms (550 pounds) to handle heavy metal parts, and the ability to navigate narrow spaces.

Standardizing on the MiR250 shelf-lifter that pulls carts from MiR partner Roeq allowed Denso to expand quickly into other areas using the same cart base and customizing it for each use.

As the engineering team receives additional requests for automated conveyance, they can easily design racks around the carts, helping to free up space, increase flexibility, and gain advantages more quickly.

Denso employees were walking up to 12 miles per day moving material between production areas and the warehouse, spending about 60 percent of their time just pushing carts, Olinger said.

The initial pilot program to automate this conveyance with AMRs eliminated this manual task, allowing six workers to transition to more value-added work. The project quickly expanded to bring components directly to line-side production for just-in-time efficiencies.

Support for the robots has grown quickly among employees, with workers in other departments requesting robot support for transporting goods such as maintenance supplies and spare parts. Denso recently purchased five MiR500 robots for future conveyance projects that require heavier payloads.

Olinger says: “Automating these repetitive and strenuous tasks with new technologies that make jobs easier helped us retain our existing labor force.

“We had plenty of open jobs for value-added activities within the production environment. We wanted to pay people to make parts for us that makes us money, and not pay them to move parts that cost us money.”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket

Related stories you might also like…

Filed Under: Features, Logistics Tagged With: amrs, denso, mir, mobile, olinger, parts, production, robots

Primary Sidebar

Search this website

Latest articles

  • Mitsubishi Electric says its robots are ‘bridging skills gaps’ in automation technology
  • Pusan National University scientists develop ‘game-changing method’ to create safer, long-lasting lithium-ion batteries
  • Fraunhofer develops ‘resource-efficient’ measurement system for semiconductor wafer production
  • Tokyo University scientists discover key to ‘stable, high-performance, and long-life’ sodium-ion batteries
  • Swiss Steel develops ‘sustainable and easy-to-machine special steels’ for automotive industry
  • How to Calculate Diminished Value for Your Car After an Accident
  • Gartner predicts one in 20 supply chain managers will manage robots, not humans, by 2030
  • Moldova launches new incubator for robotics, digital agriculture, and foodtech
  • Pudu Robotics launches new industrial sweeper and vacuum
  • Out of thin air: MIT engineers develop device that creates safe drinking water from air

Secondary Sidebar

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT