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Nippon Express launches eco-friendly delivery service in Venice using hydrogen-powered boats

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Nippon Express Italia has launched an eco-friendly delivery service in Venice, Italy that uses hydrogen-powered boats.

The European Union has set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent from 1990 levels no later than 2030, and companies operating within the EU are accelerating their de-carbonization efforts.

To realize its long-term vision of becoming a “logistics company with a strong presence in the global market”, the Nippon Express Group has made addressing climate change one of its material issues and is working to reduce CO2 emissions in its operations as well as to create products and services that help its customers reduce their own CO2 emissions. [Read more…] about Nippon Express launches eco-friendly delivery service in Venice using hydrogen-powered boats

Robot sales reach record high in North America for third consecutive quarter

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For the third-straight quarter, robot sales in North America hit a record high, driven by a resurgence in sales to automotive companies and an ongoing need to manage increasing demand to automate logistics for e-commerce.

According to the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), of the 12,305 robots sold in Q2 2022, 59 percent of the orders came from the automotive industry with the remaining orders from non-automotive companies largely in the food and consumer goods industry, which saw a 13 percent increase in unit orders over the same period, April through June, in 2021.

Jeff Burnstein, A3 President, says: “While automotive entities have long been the frontrunner in deploying robotics and automation, the last few years have seen food & consumer goods, life sciences and other industries grow at even higher rates. [Read more…] about Robot sales reach record high in North America for third consecutive quarter

BMW’s idealworks partners with Linde Material Handling

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Cutting-edge improvements in technology, such as autonomous mobile robots, have been and continue to be the driving force behind automation.

Not least due to their flexible range of applications, AMRs have increasingly been taking over transport tasks in intralogistics. By collaborating with Linde Material Handling, idealworks – a business unit of auto giant BMW – is gaining an important international sales and service partner.

Linde Material Handling, a Kion Group company, is a globally active manufacturer of forklift trucks and warehouse technology equipment as well as a provider of services and solutions for intralogistics. [Read more…] about BMW’s idealworks partners with Linde Material Handling

Airbus to expand robotic usage at Rochefort logistics site

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Airbus, the world’s largest airplane manufacturer, is expanding its usage of robotic solutions at its Rochefort, France logistics facility.

Airbus expects to be manufacturing a staggering 1,000 aircraft a year by 2025, which would significantly increase its requirements for parts picking in its warehouses.

Airbus’ partners at the Rochefort warehouse are Blondel Group and Scallog. Specifically, logistics company Blondel manages the warehouse and has installed Scallog robotic systems to accelerate operations. [Read more…] about Airbus to expand robotic usage at Rochefort logistics site

Logistics giant GEODIS orders 1,000 warehouse robots from Locus Robotics

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GEODIS, a global transport and logistics provider, and Locus Robotics, a maker of autonomous mobile robots for fulfillment warehouses, have reached a new expansion agreement to install a total of 1,000 LocusBots at GEODIS’ worldwide warehouse locations over the next 24 months.

This represents one of the industry’s largest AMR deals to date.

Eric Douglas, executive vice president of technology and engineering at GEODIS in Americas, says: “As we continue to navigate industry-wide challenges such as skyrocketing e-commerce demand and labor constraints, it is crucial we remain committed to implementing the most innovative and effective robotics automation solutions available into our warehouses to allow us to best serve our customers. [Read more…] about Logistics giant GEODIS orders 1,000 warehouse robots from Locus Robotics

Smart Robotics unveils collaborative robotic system to pick fashion items

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Smart Robotics, a provider of picking automation as a service for warehouses and logistics processes, has launched its latest collaborative robotic system – the Smart Fashion Picker.

The company says “the reliability of the cobot, and its ability to run continuously, ensures quicker return on investment – whilst answering the labour crisis in logistics and bettering the physical and mental health of warehouse employees”.

The Smart Fashion Picker addresses the pain point of transformation within warehouse automation. The need arises from the notion that the warehouse sector is quite late to automation, compared to other industries, and is now looking at a rapid transition to modern processes. [Read more…] about Smart Robotics unveils collaborative robotic system to pick fashion items

Unbox Robotics launches ‘first-of-its-kind’ vertical robotics sortation solution

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Unbox Robotics, a robotics technology company specializing in logistics, has launched what it says is “the first-of-its-kind vertical robotics sortation solution”.

Called “UnboxSort”, the solution was unveiled on the sidelines of the India Warehousing Show 2022 in New Delhi. Unbox describes UnboxSort as a “swarm intelligence-powered Industry 4.0 plug-and-play robotics solution”.

With the help of UnboxSort, Unbox Robotics aims to help e-commerce retailers scale up their logistics to handle the high parcel volume brought in by the change in online buying behaviour since the pandemic. [Read more…] about Unbox Robotics launches ‘first-of-its-kind’ vertical robotics sortation solution

Addverb Technologies releases new sorter robot for warehouses

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Addverb Technologies, a robotics company providing warehouse automation solutions, has released a new sorter robot called SortIE – a fast-moving scalable solution for rapid and efficient order fulfilment.

As a fully automated robotic put-to-wall sorting system, SortIE is capable of performing SKU-wise intelligent sortation at very high speeds and at different height levels.

Additionally, it enables easy and rapid picking. It can be easily integrated with existing conveying systems such as conveyors, robots, and manual transport with no impact on ongoing operations. [Read more…] about Addverb Technologies releases new sorter robot for warehouses

DHL opens new ‘highly automated’ fulfillment center for flatpack furniture giant IKEA

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DHL Supply Chain, Deutsche Post DHL Group’s contract logistics specialist, is opening a new, “highly automated” fulfillment center in Bergkamen, Germany, for its customer, the Swedish flatpack furniture giant IKEA.

The new state-of-the-art DHL facility has been commissioned to help the home furnishings group handle its fast-growing B2C online business in Germany, which grew significantly during the pandemic and required IKEA to rapidly expand its B2C fulfillment capabilities.

The multi-customer site in Bergkamen boasts 40,000 square meters of warehouse space and is part of the neighboring DHL Supply Chain Unna Campus, which is less than 10 kilometers away. [Read more…] about DHL opens new ‘highly automated’ fulfillment center for flatpack furniture giant IKEA

Pony.ai and SANY to mass produce autonomous trucks

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Pony.ai, an autonomous driving technology company, has formed a strategic joint venture with SANY Heavy Truck, a subsidiary of SANY Heavy Industry, a Chinese heavy equipment manufacturer and the third largest heavy equipment manufacturer globally.

Pony.ai and SANY say they will collaborate to create a “world-leading autonomous truck brand”.

The two companies say they will “deeply integrate” Pony.ai’s “virtual driver” with SANY’s technical accumulation in the field of wire-controlled chassis and vehicle development to jointly develop high-end heavy trucks that are automotive-grade and have L4-class redundancies. These trucks will inaugurate the future of truck logistics transportation.

The joint venture plans to start small-scale deliveries of the robotrucks in 2022 and 2023. Mass production of the L4 truck will commence in 2024 and within a few years will reach an annual production of around 10,000 trucks. [Read more…] about Pony.ai and SANY to mass produce autonomous trucks