The race to have robots pick up individual items in warehouses is speeding up as companies look to accelerate the flow of goods through distribution centers. Companies are turning to more powerful artificial intelligence programs to try to apply the basics of physical robotics to the wide variety of products in supply chains.
The effort is drawing big funding, with Pitchbook estimating that U.S. venture-capital investment in logistics-focused robotics and automation companies has topped $1 billion since 2015.
Companies including Berkeley, California-based Covariant and RightHand Robotics Inc. are among those on the leading edge of the drive to use AI to help machines grasp the difference between circuit boards and boxes of household goods. Their goal is to have the robot pickers use a combination of machine learning and computer vision to learn on the go and extend warehouse automation.
Today, most automation deployed in warehouses is not intelligent. As supply chains become more complex and consumers expect same-day delivery, warehouse operators are incentivized to turn to systems that can learn on their own.
Q: What will automation do to the demand for offices, stores, warehouses, and factories?
Q: Do you think robotic factory floors require more or less industrial space than the traditional more worker-based industrial factory?
Leave a Reply