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February 20-22, 2013 | Orlando World Marriott Center | Orlando, Florida USA
Robots in Warehousing
Larry M. Sweet, PhD
Chief Technology Officer
Symbotic LLC
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Potential for explosive growth!
Mature market, limited growth
Advanced tooling and software for
palletizing, layer pick
Mobile robots for storage & retrieval
Explosive market growth
Disruptive technology change!
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• Supply chain benefits
• Capital and operating
costs
• Operational constraints
Key Drivers for Warehouse Automation
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• Traditionally, robotics focused on
manufacturing
• Over 2/3rd cost of goods on the
shelf due to supply chain costs
• Even with off-shore manufacturing,
supply chain is largely domestic
• Supply chain costs have greatest
growth rates
• Labor
• Workman’s comp
• Fuel
Major Supply Chain Cost Drivers
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Source to Customer Supply Chain
Convenience
stores
Factory
Import
Distribution center
Store formats
Order fulfillment center Home delivery
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Software Used to Make Humans Work Faster
Manual case pick& palletize
Manual “pick to light”
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Warehouse Material Flow
Mixed Case Palletizing
Mixed Case Palletizing
Case or Tote Storage
Case or Tote Storage
Break Pack “Each Pick”
Dead Stack Truck Load
Dead Stack Truck
Unload
Pallet Truck Unload
Pallet Truck Unload
Mixed Case Layer PickMixed Case Layer Pick
Pallet StoragePallet
Storage
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Handling Diverse SKU Mix Required
Mixed Case Palletizing
Mixed Case Palletizing
Case Induction from Pallets
Case Induction from Pallets
Case Storage & Selection
Case Storage & Selection
0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,00016,000
Beverage
Grocery / retail
Number of SKU's
Cases or Layers
Cases in Sequence
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Layer Pick Tool Approaches
Mechanical bottom support
Peripheral sealed vacuum
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Customer Requirements: store-friendly pallets
10
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High SKU count mixed case palletizing
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Pallet handling automation
Item picking automation
Case handling automation
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Traditional solutions for automated picking
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Mobile robot explosion!
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Inflexible
Why disruptive?
Ops cost Space
Capital cost
High FlexibleLow
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Fixed cranes
Fixed business
model
Fixed layout
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Why disruptive?
Easy to re-configure• Change in SKU mix or
velocity
• Change in business model
New algorithm challenges• Replace fixed hardware with
flexible software
• Leverage research on autonomous mobile robots
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• 2D vs. 3D layout topologies
• Variable vs. fixed storage spacing
• Manual vs. automated product handling
• Sequencing vs. non-sequencing product flow
Mobile robot system characteristics
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Applications for sequenced product flow
Robot palletizing
Truck loading
Batching for customer orders
Biggest challenge to system
throughput
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Interface to warehouse information systems
Mixed Case Palletizing
Mixed Case Palletizing
Case or Tote Storage
Case or Tote Storage
Break Pack “Each Pick”
Dead Stack Truck Load
Dead Stack Truck
Unload
Pallet Truck Unload
Pallet Truck Unload
Mixed Case Layer PickMixed Case Layer Pick
Pallet StoragePallet
Storage
Warehouse control layerWarehouse control layer
Warehouse Management System (WMS)Warehouse Management System (WMS)
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Potential for explosive growth!
Mature market, limited growth
Advanced tooling and software for
palletizing, layer pick
Mobile robots for storage & retrieval
Explosive market growth
Disruptive technology change!
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Two transformational trends
Mixed SKU at factory
Store formats
Import
Multi-channel DC
Home delivery
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Transforming urban delivery
• Enabled by small footprint, low operating costs
• Transportation savings
• Fast, flexible delivery
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Larry Sweet
Chief Technology Officer
Symbotic LLC
200 Research DriveWilmington MA 01887
Phone: 603.738.8793
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.symbotic.com
Contact Information