That was the quickest three days of my life. We flew in on a Monday afternoon arriving around 3 PM. By 5:30, we were at a conveyor partner happy hour and 90 minutes later found ourselves at a Big Bash party mingling with robotics software folks. The contrast between conveyor people and robotics people is stark and interesting. From liquor to craft beer. From a hotel reception room to a hipster brewery warehouse. As a start-up integrator though, we’re happy to chat with all personalities. And that’s what this event was all about for us. Yes, the new technology is cool, and we saw some really exciting things that can help our customers. But what was even cooler than that was getting back together with the industry fam after a couple year hiatus. As much as technology tries to take relationships out of business dealings, it hasn’t happened yet in our industry. And that’s why I love working in it. People still make things happen, technology just gets us there quicker and more efficiently.
The event kept us extremely busy every day that we were there (we left on Wednesday night). I barely had time to check in with the wife and 4-month-old back home, which I still feel bad about. But without further ado, here are the technological highlights that John and I saw while at the show.
- Who better to turn to at the number one spot for technological innovation than Boston Dynamics (https://www.bostondynamics.com/solutions/warehouse-automation)? I’m not sure I’ll ever have the pleasure of selling and integrating this machine (for truck unloading/loading, depalletizing, order building), but it sure was impressive to watch in person. Watch it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYUuWWnfRsk
- SVT Robotics (https://www.svtrobotics.com/) is doing something a little outside the box that can allow for more flexibility to integrators and end-users. Their software allows multiple technology platforms to talk to each other with a few simple drag-and-drop clicks on a computer. Want to implement a conveyor with a piece-picking robot and an AMR? SVT makes that a simple process while also communicating between those technologies and your WMS. So say goodbye to your IT team’s late night homework. In essence, end-users can work with multiple providers directly and then bring it all together with SVT’s software.
- Dexterity (https://www.dexterity.ai/solutions) is making auto-induction to a sorter look too easy. With rates up to 2,000 picks per hour, the robots can pick from a jumbled mess of mixed products and quickly transfer it to a sorter tray or belt.
And this list could go on and on, but I’ve got to get back to my engineering work. So you’re welcome Boston Dynamics, SVT Robotics, and Dexterity for the free marketing (you can pay me back later). More trade shows are just around the corner which means more blogs are coming. I’ll be at Automate Show in Detroit on June 6-7 as well as the Package Fulfillment, Logistics, and Delivery Expo in Cincinnati on July 13-14. I’d love to see you there!
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