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warehouses

Warehouse automation: Plenty of room for robots

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The US has almost 10 billion square feet of warehousing space, according to research consultancy CBRE, which says 1 billion sq ft of that space was built in the past 10 years. 

Among the geographical areas with the highest number of warehouses are:

  1. Los Angeles :: 10,161 warehouses
  2. Chicago :: 7,042
  3. Northern New Jersey :: 5,208
  4. Boston :: 4,222
  5. Orange County :: 4,162
  6. Central New Jersey :: 3,926
  7. Oakland :: 3,580
  8. Detroit :: 3,542
  9. Denver :: 2,744
  10. St Louis :: 2,636

The vast majority of warehouses – even the new ones – are not automated to a significant extent, and if it is, it’s most likely with what might be considered traditional technology, meaning conveyors and human-driven forklift trucks.  [Read more…] about Warehouse automation: Plenty of room for robots

50,000 warehouses to use 4 million robots by 2025, says report

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More than 4 million commercial robots will be installed in over 50,000 warehouses by 2025, according to a report by ABI Research.

The 50,000 figure represents a massive expansion of the market from the current situation in which an estimated 4,000 warehouses were found to be using robots in 2018.

ABI says the rapid rate of adoption will be driven by the need for flexible, efficient, and automated e-commerce fulfillment as same-day delivery becomes the norm.  [Read more…] about 50,000 warehouses to use 4 million robots by 2025, says report

Warehouse automation: Interroll looking to expand operations

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“You may not realise that you’ve used an Interroll product, but you almost certainly have,” says Hilton Campbell, the newly appointed managing director of Interroll UK, at a press event in London.

“If you’ve flown through an airport recently, particularly a European one, then you’ve probably used a conveyor while collecting your luggage – that’s Interroll technology.

“You may have used Interroll products even more recently, especially if you’ve done some shopping – a lot of supermarkets use conveyors with Interoll technology.”  [Read more…] about Warehouse automation: Interroll looking to expand operations

Bharati Robotics shows off autonomous industrial cleaning robot

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bharati agv crop
The Bharati autonomous guided vehicle for materials transport

Bharati Robotics Systems has been showing off its new autonomous industrial floor cleaning robots. 

The company says the small vehicle saves labour costs and increases productivity by up to 200 per cent, and cleans the floor better than humans, or the “highest quality of cleaning”.

The robot’s battery lasts up to four hours on one charge and it has a smartphone interface through which it can be monitored and controlled.  [Read more…] about Bharati Robotics shows off autonomous industrial cleaning robot

Chinese e-commerce giant starts delivering orders using robots

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jd robot

One of China’s largest online shopping companies has started to deliver goods to its customers using robots, according to a report in QZ.com. 

The four-wheeled autonomous vehicle (pictured above) is about the size of a washing machine and was developed by Jingdong, or JD.com as it’s also known in China.

And although the robot was used for the first time earlier this week, JD’s chairman, Liu Qiangdong, says the company could completely roboticise its entire logistics process within a few years.

The company already uses small autonomous vehicles in its logistics warehouses to move goods around (pictured below).  [Read more…] about Chinese e-commerce giant starts delivering orders using robots

Amazon has 45,000 robots working in its warehouses

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Amazon, by far the world’s largest online retailer, bought Kiva Systems a few years back. 

At that time, Kiva was a small robotics company appreciated by logistics customers for its autonomous warehouse vehicles.

Now, repackaged as Amazon Robotics machines, those vehicles or their descendants are working in Amazon warehouses – and in very large numbers.  [Read more…] about Amazon has 45,000 robots working in its warehouses