Exploring automated warehouse robotics – types, benefits & more
In the fast-paced world of logistics, robotics and automated technologies are gaining ground to reshape the supply chain landscape.
Imagine a warehouse where tireless efficiency, optimized costs, heightened safety, and real-time insights converge.
Welcome to the world of warehouse robotics. 🤖
Automating warehouse processes with robots helps reduce reliance on human labor, leading to a more cost-effective, predictable, and safe facility.
And that’s just a few of the benefits.
Keep reading to gain a thorough understanding of automated warehouse robots and their potential to optimize your warehouse operations.
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Advantages of Warehouse Robotics
As digital transformation takes hold across the supply chain, warehousing transforms significantly, with warehouse robots at the forefront of this evolution.
These machines have moved beyond the realm of imagination, reshaping how we perceive and conduct business within the supply chain.
Here we list 4 of the top benefits that robots can provide to your warehouse workflows:
💰 Reduce costs: You must pay warehouse workers salaries and benefits. Robots, on the other hand, don’t require wages. The cost efficiency of robots makes them an excellent solution for reducing warehouse operating costs.
🚀 Boost efficiency: Warehouse robots are tireless, while human workers get tired and may make mistakes. Studies even show that human error is the leading cause of problems in 46% of warehouses, costing businesses trillions of dollars. With warehouse robots, you can automate repetitive or complicated tasks to reduce errors and improve efficiency and productivity.
🛡️ Improve safety: Autonomous mobile robots can handle storing, picking, and packing heavy goods without human intervention. Fewer human workers handling dangerous equipment or heavy items will reduce the risk of costly or deadly accidents within your warehouse.
📊 Provide real-time data and insights: Automated robots can provide actionable insights for improving warehouse operations. Integrating your robots with a WMS like Logiwa lets you easily view the latest data and insights via a user-friendly dashboard.
8 Common Types of Automated Warehouse Robots
Curious about which robots align best with your warehouse needs? Let's dive into the most popular automated warehouse robot types, unveiling their functionalities and operational intricacies.
#1. Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs)
An automated guided vehicle (AGV) is a mobile robot you can program to transport inventory within your warehouse. The robot can operate autonomously by traveling along predefined routes with the help of lasers, optical sensors, or magnets.
AGVs are an excellent alternative to moving inventory with forklifts because the lack of human intervention reduces the risk of accidents.
#2. Automated Mobile Robots (AMRs)
An automated mobile robot travels around a warehouse to retrieve and deliver inventory. Unlike AGVs that can only travel along predefined routes, an AMR can freely navigate around a warehouse. Also, AMRs are more autonomous than AGVs, and you can easily reconfigure them to fit changes in your warehouse layout.
#3. Picking & Packing Robots
Picking and packing robots are robotic arms you can program to retrieve and prepare orders for shipping. Such robots have advanced sensors, grippers, and algorithms for handling and manipulating items of various shapes and sizes to fulfill orders.
You can use picking and packing robots to increase warehouse productivity as they can process orders 24/7 without human intervention. Also, picking robots can pick items at a higher rate than humans, leading to faster and more efficient order fulfillment.
#4. Co-Bots
A warehouse co-bot or collaborative robot is a robotic system that works alongside human workers. Since co-bots must work alongside humans, they have sensors and other features that prevent collisions and accidents with humans.
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A co-bot can assist workers in your ecommerce warehouse with picking, heavy lifting, quality control, packing, and shipping. The robot’s accuracy significantly reduces the risk of human error, leading to more accurate order fulfillment.
#5. Palletizing Robots
Palletizing robots are for automating the stacking and organizing of inventory onto pallets. You can use them to bring inventory into your warehouse, organize inventory storage, or retrieve inventory for storage or shipment.
The system’s ability to efficiently and safely stack inventory helps maximize storage space, improve warehouse safety, and reduce the risk of damaged goods.
#6. Automatic Storage & Retrieval System (ASRS) Robots
ASRS robots are robotic systems for automating the storage, retrieval, and handling of warehouse goods. The robot can help optimize warehouse storage space and improve the efficiency of inventory retrieval and placement.
For example, you can program an ASRS robot to store inventory using First-In-First-Out (FIFO) or Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) methods.
#7. Goods-to-Person (G2P) Robots
A G2P robot is any robotic system that can retrieve items from inventory and deliver them to packers for order fulfillment. Such robots minimize human walking time within a warehouse so workers can spend more time on more valuable tasks.
You typically find G2P robots in modern e-commerce fulfillment centers and warehouses with high order volumes.
#8. Drones
Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles used for mapping out and surveilling warehouses. You can also deploy drones to:
To learn more about how to get started with warehouse robotics, as well as specific ways you can use automated warehouse robots to your advantage within your facility, check out the full blog article.
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