June 19, 2024

With the global technology shift, the worldwide competition and the myriad demands of product variety, a large percentage of conventional warehousing is undergoing organizational transformation and technology investments have been done that make intralogistics & warehouses smarter and more efficient.

Growing adaptability to technology has already started transforming manufacturing and logistic industries including warehousing, automotive, food, FMCG, white goods, E-commerce & E-tail industries. Deployment of cyber-physical solutions and development of profitable value proposition will address the key challenges related to the constant need to enhance intralogistics efficiency. In any warehouse or fulfillment center environment, Autonomous Mobile Robots is a young technology that makes operations and workflow highly accurate, efficient and agile.

Why AMR is must-have?

An autonomous mobile robot (AMR) understand and move through its environment without any supervision or on a fixed predetermined path. AMRs have an array of sophisticated sensors that enable them to understand and interpret their environment, which helps them to perform their task in the most efficient manner and path possible, navigating around fixed obstructions (building, racks, work stations, etc.) and variable obstructions (such as people, lift trucks, and debris). Autonomous mobile robots find the most efficient route to achieve each task and are designed to work collaboratively with operators such as picking and sorting operations.

The intelligent fleet of AMR is designed for a future-oriented facility. These load carriers create an efficient intralogistics network in your facility. An AMR is a modular system element which can be configured & expanded to a completely automated fleet as per your application requirements. Enabled by high-end navigation and real-time synchronization with WMS, AMR significantly optimizes the workforce and speeds up the material movement. Bolstered with AI & Machine learning, AMR systems can be flexibly integrated into any warehouse, handling tasks swiftly such as goods-to-person, sorting, towing and many others.

Types of Autonomous Mobile Robots

AMR eliminates any potential of human errors such as inaccurate work-flows, damages & pilferages, making your operations highly productive and a warehouse that runs 24/7. In addition to the obvious improvements in accuracy and productivity, by integrating AMR with your WCS/WMS, you can streamline processes such as inventory and materials orders. With various navigation technique such as:

Induction wire
Magnetic strip
Colour strip
Metal strip
QR code
Lazer guided
Natural navigation

An AMR operates in the conditions where humans don’t operate optimally, such as in extreme heat or cold conditions or in the vicinity of hazardous material. Typically performing non-value added tasks—such as transporting, picking up, and dropping off product—in order to free up the workforce to perform other tasks that add value to the operations. AMR is broadly categorized by the application that the technology is meant to perform and can be bucketed as:

AMRs that move inventory intra-facility: Transporting inventory and products from one place to another within a facility is, typically, a low- skill task that adds little or no value to the operation. Automating product transportation means that workers can stay in their primary work area in order to perform other, more valuable tasks while work is brought to and taken away from them with AMRs. Today, there is a range of AMRs specifically designed to fill the efficiency gap in functionality. Instead of working with only large and heavy loads, they are designed to pick up and drop off individual cases and totes and items.

AMRs that assist in picking: Physically walking from location to location within a facility can account for up to 75% of the time associated with picking, hence making order picking one of the costliest and tedious tasks performed within an operation. When it comes to complementing your pick operation with AMRs, numerous technologies are available that can be customized to suit your needs such as:

AMR for order picking
AMR for goods to person
AMRs for sorting operation

Autonomous mobile robots can also play a vital role in sorting operation. Different models come equipped with a variety of product handling technologies. From conveyor roller to tilt trays and cross belt systems, AMRs are equipped for a wide range of sorting solutions including:

High-speed parcel sorting
E-commerce order fulfillment
Returns handling
Short-term sorting

With the rapid expansion of the on-demand economy, dependency on the human workforce for material sorting & movement directly hampers productivity. This results in low order fulfillment, hence hitting your profitability. The modularity and agility of AMRs allow you to have a competitive edge with faster order fulfillment and stock replenishment and quick scalability to adapt to changing business demands. AMR is an innovative solution that breathes with your business, scaling your operations and revenue by ensuring consistent high throughput, accuracy & productivity.