Warehouse Robotics | Indianapolis

Consider this: what would it mean to your business if you could slash your warehouse workforce costs by nearly half, add around the clock shifts that significantly boost your production capacity and have visibility to troves of live metrics on all aspects of your operation? Warehouse robotics systems can help you transform your business, lowering costs, boosting productivity and enhancing profitability.

Types of Warehouse Robots

While some types of warehouse robotics technologies have been in use for many years, others are bleeding edge solutions that may fundamentally change the warehousing industry as we know it. The main classifications of robotics system are:

Articulated Robotic Arms: Robotic arms with multiple joints can lift and move products in a warehouse. They're typically applied to receiving tasks, such as moving goods from pallets to racking, or in production environments, for picking and packing.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Unmanned aerial vehicles, conventionally know as drones, can maintain live inventory visibility in a facility by using RFID technology.

Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS) : AS/RS can pick up inventory from racks and return items to their designated storage positions. Examples of AS/RS solutions are pallet shuttle systems, unit load cranes and horizontal or vertical carousel systems.

Goods-to-Person technology (G2P): In lieu of using humans to pick items from racks and bins, G2P solutions employ robots to deliver goods to picking stations, where workers are stationed to fulfill orders as goods are delivered.

Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) : AGVs, like self-driving carts, pallet jacks or forklifts, transfer products from one area to another inside a warehouse. Cart based AGVs are commonly referred to as AGCs, or Automatic Guided Carts.

Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) : Like AGVs and AGCs, AMRs can transfer goods throughout a facility autonomously. Unlike AGVs and AGCs, which traverse set paths often controlled by magnetic strips or wire tracks, AMRs rely on maps, cameras and sensors to navigate frequently changing routes by analyzing their environment.

Applications For Warehouse Robots

Until recently, robotic applications in distribution centers and warehouses, warehouses and distribution centers were confined to a handful of jobs. As technology has improved, robotic capabilities have broadened and they can now be used for nearly any requirement in a warehouse:

Loading and unloading: Although complete automation of loading and unloading trailers is not yet a reality, automated systems like conveyors and AGVs can be employed to enhance your loading dock speed.

Palletizing and de-palletizing: Robotic systems are ideal for tedious, recurrent work like palletizing. These types of robots generally employ a specific End-of-Arm Tool to pick up units and place them on a pallet. They're commonly paired with conveyor systems that supply items to the palletizing area.

Sorting: Robotic sortation systems must have the ability to grab products, ID them and put them in a suitable bin or storage slot. As products pass by on a conveyor, these systems use cameras to identify specific items and pick them out.

Picking: The vast majority of workforce costs in a warehouse are a result of order picking activities, and robotic picking solutions have been around for decades to help tackle this issue. Nevertheless, modern robotic picking solutions offer increased speed, improved accuracy, enhanced efficiency and far better value versus systems of just a few years ago.

Packaging: Robotic solutions are ideal for recurrent and tedious jobs like packaging. They can also be used for more complicated tasks like weighing, dimensioning and cartonizing.

Transportation: Robotic transportation systems are widely used in warehouses, from simple AGCs/AGVs to AS/RS integrated conveyors and AMRs.

Storage: AS/RS systems emoby a variety of warehouse robots, including cranes, pallet shuttles and mini-load systems. AS/RS is also sometimes used in combination with mobile racking systems to maximize storage density.

Delivery: Leading e-commerce companies are conducting research on autonomous delivery drones, self-driving trucks and other emerging tech that will revolutionize last mile delivery options in the next decade.

Replenishment: Using RFID to keep track of inventory, warehouse drones can survey barcode labels in half the time of manual scanning and relay inventory data back to the warehouse management system instantaneously.

Industrial Robotics Companies Near Me

To find out more about industrial robotic solutions for your business, get in touch with an automation expert at Associated today!

The Associated Indianapolis service area includes Indianapolis, Evansville, Fishers, Bloomington, Carmel, Lafayette, Greenwood, Terre Haute, Muncie, Kokomo, Anderson, Westfield, Jeffersonville, Columbus and all surrounding areas.

Associated | Indianapolis Forklift Dealer

5905 Decatur Blvd
Indianapolis, IN 46241
(317) 821-0300