Imagine slashing your warehouse labor expenditures by up to 50%, adding around the clock shifts that squeeze even more production out of your facility and having access to troves of up to the minute data on all aspects of your facility. Warehouse robotics systems can help you reshape your business, reducing costs, increasing productivity and strengthening efficiency.

Types of Warehouse Robots

Although a handful of warehouse robotics solutions have been in use for many years, others are cutting-edge solutions that have the potential to disrupt the warehousing business as we know it. The principal types of robotics system are:

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

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Unmanned aerial vehicles, more commonly know as drones, can deliver real-time inventory insight in a warehouse by using RFID technology.

Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS) : AS/RS can collect products from shelves and put items in their appropriate storage locations. Examples of AS/RS solutions are horizontal or vertical carousel systems, aisle cranes and pallet shuttle systems.

Goods-to-Person technology (G2P): In lieu of using human labor to pick items from bins and racks, G2P technology uses robots to supply products to picking stations, where employees are positioned to complete orders as products are delivered.

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

Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) : Like AGCs and AGVs, Autonomous Mobile Robots can transfer products throughout a warehouse autonomously. Unlike AGCs and AGVs, which traverse stationary paths often guided by magnetic strips or wire tracks, AMRs rely on maps, cameras and sensors to negotiate frequently changing routes by evaluating their surroundings.

Applications For Warehouse Robots

Until recently, robotic applications in distribution centers and warehouses, warehouses and distribution centers were limited to a handful of functions. As technology has improved, robotic capabilities have broadened and they can now be applied to almost any function in a warehouse:

Loading and unloading: Although total automation of loading and unloading trucks is not yet a realistic possibility, automated systems like AGVs and conveyors can be employed to optimize your loading dock efficiency.

Palletizing and de-palletizing: Robotic systems are ideal for monotonous, recurrent work like palletizing. These types of robots typically employ a specific End-of-Arm Tool to grab units and set them on a pallet. They're often coupled with conveyor systems that supply products to the palletizing area.

Sorting: Robotic sortation systems must be able to select items, identify them and place them in an appropriate storage slot or bin. As products move along a conveyor, these robots use cameras to identify specific items and pick them out.

Picking: The vast majority of human labor costs in a warehouse come from picking functions, and robotic picking tehnologies have been around for many years to help address this concern. However, contemporary robotic picking systems offer greater speed, better accuracy, more efficiency and superior value versus systems of even a few years ago.

Packaging: Robotic solutions are perfect for repetitious and tedious functions like packaging. They may also be used for more complicated jobs like weighing, dimensioning and cartonizing.

Transportation: Robotic transportation systems have wide-scale use in warehouses, from simple AGCs/AGVs to AMRs and conveyor systems that are integrated with AS/RS.

Storage: AS/RS systems include many types of warehouse robots, including cranes, pallet shuttles and mini-load systems. AS/RS is also sometimes used together with mobile racking systems to make the most of storage density.

Delivery: Major e-commerce companies are experimenting with self-driving trucks, autonomous delivery drones and other emerging tech that will transform last mile delivery options in the near future.

Replenishment: Using RFID to monitor inventory, warehouse drones can scan barcode labels in half the time of manual scanning and relay stock data back to the warehouse management system in real time.

Industrial Robotics Companies Near Me

If would would like to learn more about industrial robotic solutions for your operation, talk to an automation expert at Raymond West today!

Raymond West's Ontario, California facility serves parts of Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County, including Ontario, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, La Verne, San Dimas, Covina, West Covina, Pomona, Diamond Bar, Rowland Heights, Chino, Norco, Eastvale, Corona, Jurupa Valley, San Bernardino, Rialto and all surrounding areas.

Raymond West | Ontario California Material Handling Equipment Supplier

4602 E Brickell St
Ontario, CA 91761
(909) 930-9399