Simplify the warehouse
Exotec recently launched its Next Gen robotics solution and LogiMAT offered an early opportunity to show the technology to the market.
LOGISTICS MATTERS caught up with Renaud Heitz, co-founder and CTO of Exotec at the show and asked how users were responding.
Renaud says: “Some have focused on the higher performance, while others are more solutions focused, and they appreciate the simplification of the warehouse. Some have appreciated both.”
The Next Generation of Skypod comes with a number of design improvements, including a new and more compact Skypod robot, a workstation for robot-to-robot picking, a high-throughput exchanger, and denser storage. These redesigns, combined with new software features, improve the throughput at a single workstation by 50%, while enhancing storage density by up to 30% compared to the previous generation.
The key differentiator for the Next Generation of Skypod is the ability to handle both each and case picking, positioning Exotec to better address multichannel needs with a single solution.
“We are trying to simplify the warehouse process, and do more with the same number of robots as before.”
How does Renaud see the future of warehousing?
“Humanoid robots will not work. We don’t see these bots being more efficient than bots on wheels.
“Software will continue to be a challenge. The warehouse is a lively environment, even when automated, there are light differences, there is dust, sprinklers can leak, the floor is never perfect, items can fall from cartons. It will be about simplifying execution in the warehouse.
“Using AI for the right problems; for vision, quality, for orchestration could be promising also.”
Exotec robots do not work on any old floor, of course, but flooring is not required to be ultra-flat.
“At the bottom of rack legs, we have ways to adapt so the ground is not an issue,” says Renaud. “Our customers want projects that are ready to go quickly, so we need to anticipate issues. With the end-to-end system, we can go live in just six months.”
On the maintenance side, Exotec has invested a lot in data to help customers in a light touch but proactive way.
Renaud concludes: “We are investing a lot in data and smart algorithims to spot events within the system that could develop into a negative impact on customers. We can intervene without stopping the system and 90% of interventions come from business intelligence as opposed to incidents. We would like to take this figure even higher.”
