ROBOTS IN THE WAREHOUSE

An in-depth look at how robots are transforming warehouses and

distribution centers worldwide into highly-efficient, automated
spaces that fully leverage the power of digitalization.
ROBOTS IN THE WAREHOUSE
An in-depth look at how robots are transforming warehouses and
distribution centers worldwide into highly-efficient, automated
spaces that fully leverage the power of digitalization.
Once the domain of futuristic science fiction novels, robots
are now making their way into the world’s warehouses
and distribution centers (DCs) rapidly. Advancements
in technology and higher adoption rates are making the
robots themselves more accessible—both in terms of
availability and affordability—while companies, in general,
are embracing the idea of robotics in the workplace.
By emulating human work and automating repetitive tasks,
robots blend machinery with software to create “virtual
workforces” that can be applied to existing applications;
communicate with other systems; and control data across
the enterprise. This, in turn, allows companies to make
better use of their current labor forces (which waste an
inordinate amount of time traversing the warehouse and
doing repetitive tasks), digitalize their operations, save
money, and leverage their data for better decision making.
In the distribution environment, robots have begun
transforming fulfillment and distribution operations by
bringing consistency, efficiency and flexibility to activities
like assembly, picking, transportation, packaging, and
shipping. Programmed to independently carry out a
Robots have begun transforming
fulfillment and distribution
operations by bringing consistency,
efficiency and flexibility to activities.
complex series of actions, they can efficiently guide
workers to pick up the right items and transport them
across a warehouse to be packed and shipped. These
robots operate with little supervision, relying on intelligent
programming that’s set within their systems to guide their
activities.
Today’s fulfillment centers are managing chronic
labor shortage issues while striving for operational
predictability. E-commerce fulfillment alone requires
more material handlers per square foot than traditional
warehouses, or one material handler per 700 – 1,000
square feet vs. one worker to 1,500 – 3,000 square feet,
according to NAIOP. More labor is needed at a time when
Human workers are then freed to
focus on more valuable processes
such as put-away, packing, and filling
in during daily, weekly, monthly or
seasonal peaks or variations.
less of it is available. Thus, operations are systematically
appropriating self-guided forklifts, mobile picking robots,
or conventional conveyors to a baseline of material
throughput to address needed labor. Human workers are
then freed to focus on more valuable processes such
as put-away, packing, and filling in during daily, weekly,
monthly or seasonal peaks or variations.
Mobile robots also, by definition, are flexible and scalable.
Companies may assign mobile picking robots to a
segment of their operations and then work with robotic
vendors to adjust and expand the system as necessary.
Doing this in small chunks enables a more seamless
installation of robots at a future date and lends itself to a
very scalable, flexible operation. Warehouse automation
becomes possible over a shorter time frame in a world
where robots are being installed with minimal change
to infrastructure, and without the need to “pause” an
operation.
In this white paper, we look at the evolution of robotics
in the distribution environment, highlight the types
of robots available on the market today, outline the
key differentiators among these options, and tell why
companies cannot afford to ignore the proliferation of
robots in the DC and warehouse.
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WE’VE COME A LONG WAY: THE
EVOLUTION OF WAREHOUSE
ROBOTICS
Automated guided vehicles date back to the 1950s when
material handling vehicles (tuggers, forked equipment,
transport platforms), were “automated” by using sensors
to follow tape on the floor, which was an advancement from
rail or line guided systems that were physically installed in
Kiva Robot | Joel Eden Photography
the warehouse floor. The technology advanced from there
by leveraging laser technology, thereby ushering in an era
of advanced automation for the modern-day warehouse.
The move to fully autonomous systems started in the
early 2000s, when the price per performance of computing
and commercially available sensors advanced the rate of
innovation in this space. In 2012, Amazon acquired one of
the industry’s early innovators of autonomous systems,
Kiva Robotics, to be one of the first retailers to turn supply
chain operations into a strategic market advantage. With
mobile robots, Amazon now had the ability to scale and
diversify inventory and offer new service levels. The
Amazon acquisition of Kiva is widely seen as the key event
that led to the rise of mobile robots and more advanced
manipulation robots.
With the continued, rapid advancement of technology
– most of which included advancements in software
algorithms – and Amazon as an example of how to
leverage that technology, the industry saw an influx
of the second generation of autonomous robots. This
included autonomous mobile carts, which automates a
high level of manual labor attributed to walking around
a warehouse. These mobile cart solutions provide a low-
risk solution with a quick setup, human collaboration,
and the elimination of humans walking long distances
throughout warehouses. However, they only automate
unproductive walking, they do not fully automate the
piece-picking tasks themselves. Other approaches have
emerged as well, including robotic arms that pick items
from bins along a conveyor or taken from an automated
storage and retrieval system. These systems focused
Autonomous Mobile Cart | The Robot Report
on automatically transferring goods from one station to
another. None of these solutions offered the complete
solution which has been considered the “holy grail” – a
mobile solution which does both selection and transport
of goods.
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Robot Differentiation in the Industry

Today, a growing number of companies are embracing, deploying, and integrating robots into their warehouse and DC
operations. This uptick has not escaped the watchful eyes of industry researchers and analysts. MHI’s annual study shows
that after a decline in robot usage in 2017, the industry saw a 95% increase in 2018.

IN TOTAL, ALLIED MARKET RESEARCH EXPECTS THE WAREHOUSE ROBOTICS MARKET TO REACH $5.2
BILLION BY 2023 (UP FROM $2.4 BILLION IN 2016).

Defining warehouse robotics as the “deployment of robotics in the warehouse to perform functions such as pick-place,
packaging, transportation, and palletizing,” the research firm says key market drivers include increased demand for
automation due to the prevailing competition in e-commerce; SKU proliferation, and advancements in technology.

“ “The market for autonomous mobile robots today is expanding quite rapidly,” says IDC’s
John Santagate, who expects 60% of the world’s 2,000 largest companies to deploy
autonomous mobile robots by 2021. “These types of devices have already proven to add
value in areas such as e-commerce order fulfillment or in the warehouse, autonomously
moving pallets around.”

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Logistics Robotics Landscape

Medium.com

ABI Research is also bullish on the robot’s position in the warehousing environment, and estimates shipments of global
commercial and collaborative robots in e-commerce fulfillment will reach 443,000 units in 2026 (20 times higher than in
2018). It includes mobile platforms in goods-to-person systems; autonomous mobile robots with manipulators; last-mile
delivery robots; and collaborative robots in its count.

“Currently, warehousing, order processing, and last mile delivery are all extremely labor-intensive,” ABI Research points
out. “As both sectors are facing similar challenges in terms of a tightening in the labor market, the need to provide service
differentiation and fight increasing operation costs, companies look toward commercial and collaborative robots to augment
the efficiency of their warehouse employees.”

The industry is also facing a crisis on the labor front, where the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that since March 2018
there has been a rarely seen labor market “inversion” of sorts. Put simply, there are now more US job openings now then
there are unemployed workers, a historical anomaly, according to Supply Chain Digest.

According to the 2018 MHI Annual Industry Report, the implementation of robotics and automation continues to expand
as companies look for ways to remain competitive. Robots and automation can improve overall efficiency by performing
traditionally-manual tasks such as picking, sorting, inspecting, storing, handling, and classifying products.

In surveying its members, MHI says adoption of robotics in the warehouse is expected to reach 53% over the next two
years, and 74% by 2023 (compared to a current 34%). “This expected rise in adoption,” MHI concludes, “suggests that firms
recognize robotics and automation as integral tools to maintain and increase competitive advantage through NextGen
supply chains.”

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What Flexible Automation Looks Like in the Warehouse
Robots come in different shapes and sizes and have varied capabilities. Some are fixed and some move about freely. Certain
types can maneuver about autonomously, others require operator controls, and still, others are incorporated into shuttle
systems and come with robotic arms used for item picking. Solutions may also be plotted or characterized on the basis of
volume, flexibility, and cost (i.e., volume-high, cost-low flexibility or high-flexibility, low-cost [but low volume]).

Here are the main categories of robots that are currently being deployed and used in the warehouse or DC setting:

AGVs (automated guided vehicles) AS/RS (automated storage and retrieval systems)

Turck Robotics and Automation News

These were the first mobile robots to enter industry dating
back to the 1950s. Early versions followed defined paths
on the floor marked by tape. Then we saw advancements
in using laser for guidance systems in the 1990s, followed
by fully-autonomous robots in the 2000s. Forklifts, pallet
jacks, and tuggers (where a robot pulls loads around the
facility) also fall into this category. Consisting of one or
more computer-controlled, wheel-based load carriers
(normally battery powered) that run on the plant or
warehouse floor (or if outdoors on a paved area), AGVs
do not require an onboard operator. Their movement is
directed by a combination of software and sensor-based
guidance systems. Because they move on a predictable
path, with precisely controlled acceleration and
deceleration, and include automatic obstacle detection
bumpers, AGVs provide safe movement of loads.
AS/RS solutions are robotically driven systems that
navigate on a fixed track that automatically shuttle
inventory back and forth from dense, fixed storage
locations. They are used to automate the inventory
process, retrieve goods for use, and then place those
items back into storage once they are no longer needed.
There are various types of shuttle systems, including
those designed to manage the high levels of throughput
and guaranteed product availability expected in the retail
and e-commerce environments. Shuttle systems tend to
be expensive, and really are only accessible to the largest
retailers due to price tags starting in the millions and
most often reaching $100 million or more.

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What Flexible Automation Looks Like in the Warehouse
(Cont.)
AMRs (autonomous mobile robots)
AMRs differ from automated guided vehicles AGVs by
their degree of autonomy, with the former being far more
independent than the latter. According to the Robotics
Industry Association (RIA), AMRs will be an important part
of lean operations in a wide range of industrial settings
once they are widely deployed, as they are built to address
specific challenges in the typical industrial environment.
“Autonomous mobile robots are much more capable of
navigating dynamic environments,” RIA reports. “They
require little external input to do so, which is an important
capability.” One of the latest innovations in AMRs is the
inclusion of onboard intelligence systems that allow
the robots to learn their surroundings either by having a
blueprint uploaded or by having the AMRs drive around
and dynamically develop maps of their surroundings. This
type of autonomy allows them to quickly adapt to just
about any industrial environment.
Automated Carts
A sub-category of AMRs, automated carts are designed
to lead or follow workers around working alongside
humans. These “pick carts” entered warehouses
several years ago and are leading the industry in terms
of early AMR adoption. They trail behind employees as
they do their work, helping them pick faster and more
accurately. Other types of automated carts effectively
“lead” employees through their work, guiding them to the
right slotting locations and allowing them to operate in
a more hands-free environment. This helps save time
while reducing the number of steps that a worker has to
take in the warehouse during the course of a day. With
carts, you need a human on either end of the workflow—
taking the products off of the racks, putting them onto
the carts, and then taking the product off of the cart on
the other side. These solutions are relatively inexpensive,
very easy to install, and complement existing workforces.
The problem is, as the labor crisis deepens and workers
become less available, these robots cannot perform the
entire task alone.
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What Flexible Automation Looks Like in the Warehouse
(Cont.)
Stationary Robotic Arms
Sometimes paired with shuttle systems to extend the level
of automation, robotic arms are multi-jointed limbs that
can be used to lift, turn, move, and manipulate a wide range
of products in the typical DC or warehouse. They are used
for receiving and storage; picking and packing; shipping,
and other functions. These robots manipulate their
environment by controlling the position and orientation
of an end-effector, which in the warehouse environment
typically involves a gripper device. These systems are
driven more by advancements in perception software and
manipulation techniques, and typically include artificial
intelligence (AI) techniques and advances. In most cases,
they use off-the-shelf robotic arm manipulators.
MMRs (mobile manipulation robots)
These robots are AMRs that include a smart, robotic arm
for picking or materials transfer – picking from a mobile
platform. IAM Robotics’ Swift™ mobile platform, for
example, travels autonomously into warehouse storage
areas, finds inventory locations, individually identifies
objects, and autonomously picks the objects. These
robots automate both the movement and the picking/
transfer of goods, and provide a complete automation
solution for warehouses and DCs. Mobile manipulation
robots are a particularly good choice for e-commerce
applications, where a high percentage of orders include
slow-moving stock keeping units (SKUs). These inventory
items typically makeup 80% or more of a retailer’s
inventory stock and up 55-60% of labor costs. That means
fulfillment requires a lot of walking and traveling around
the facility, and that is an area where mobile manipulation
robots have the opportunity to shine.
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I AM S WI F T ™
Multiple obstacle detection
sensors for safety

User-friendly interface for

localized controls

Tower supports rapid

vertical movement and
provides stability for picks
ranging 2 inches off the
ground up to 7 feet high

Multiple e-stop buttons for

added safety

Carriage provides stability

and supports high-speed arm
torque with an MDR option
for automatic tote transfer

Patented hot swappable

battery for easy charging/
changing by one person
and provides 10 hours of
continuous up time

Autonomous mobile base

direct drive motors for minimal
turning radius, free range easy
movement, and safety

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Magnetic break away for
quick-swap changes and
additional safety

6-Axis articulated arm

provides a wide range of
SKU flexibility and reach for
3D vision postively
side picking along aisles
identifies product
location and enables
higher picking success

Interchangeable suction
cup gripper to accomodate
a variety of product
weights and dimensions

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What’s the Difference? The equipment that can easily be adjusted and scaled
up to meet companies’ future needs. Consider,
Swift™ Value Proposition for example, that e-commerce order profiles have
shifted to one to five items per order, and that
inventory must now ship within hours (or even
Currently, the primary differentiator in industrial
minutes) of being received, versus days.
automation is the choice between “fixed” and
“flexible” automation. Fixed automation systems,
Both tedious and time-consuming, manual piece-
such as complex AS/RS solutions and carousel
picking often consumes more resources than any
goods-to-person systems, are valuable to larger,
other area of a fulfillment operation. A flexible,
higher volume distribution centers that require
fully-automated AMR, Swift manages 90%-
large-scale density and higher throughput.
100% of every task without the need for human
intervention and provides an attractive return on
It is important to note the implementation of these
investment (ROI) for the right applications. The
types of advanced automation systems require
robot fully automates both walk and pick; travels
extensive installation and facility modifications. For
disconnected from power source and network;
this reason, automation projects may take years to
makes its own decision on what to pick when it
design, implement, and iterate after deployment.
arrives at a known picking slot; and is both portable
Operational decisions based on automation
and modular.
purchases are largely irreversible, and facilities
are locked-in with depreciating equipment. The
These systems are best for the high-mix, low-
systems are designed for peak volumes and
volume distribution environments. However, as
therefore operate well below total capacity for
the robotics technology continues to improve,
most of the year. Finally, in a market defined by
these systems will increase their volume capacity
high growth rates and always shifting consumer
and ultimately challenge bigger, more expensive
preferences, fixed systems are not portable. There
automation systems (i.e., shuttles).
are high costs to move these systems from one
facility to another as an organization manages its
Swift is also portable, flexible enough to handle bin
growth.
handling, and incorporates obstacle detection—
all of which come together to help make today’s
“Flexible” automation systems—or drop-in
warehouse and DC operations more efficient,
equipment such as mobile robots—are more
productive, and effective. One dark store (i.e., a
versatile and less expensive overall. This is a
repurposed warehouse that now serves as an
critical differentiator because as requirements
e-commerce delivery/pickup location for the
for DC operations evolve, we are seeing a growing
retailer) is incorporating Swift into the operation
need for smarter, more adaptable, automated
to fulfill orders. This autonomous option requires
a robot operator to supervise a fleet of robots,
handling exceptions and responding to fluctuations
in picking demand.

This particular application is important in a world

where establishing a physical presence closer to
the customer is both expensive and difficult. The
only way that retailers can make e-commerce
deliveries economical for their business models is
by deploying better technology systems, including
more automation and robotics. With roughly
50% of e-commerce orders picked manually,
using robots drives profitability and productivity
gains through new fulfillment centers such as
dark stores, micro-fulfillment centers, and fully
dedicated e-commerce warehouses.

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Robotics: A Fundamental
Competitive Requirement
As robots continue to proliferate in the fulfillment and
distribution environment, the warehouse of the future
will need to increase inventory density in small-footprint
urban areas while enabling more efficient management
of throughput and backlog during peak demand periods.
These facilities will also need lean operations that
enhance cost competitiveness.
Automation can ease the tension between these trade-offs
while enhancing (not replacing) workforce productivity by
allowing both robots and humans to focus on what they
do best. Robots also help enhance operational flexibility,
drive down operational costs, promote business growth,
and improve customer service levels.
As robotic technology becomes more widespread and
deployment costs go down, the business case for these
valuable automated components will only get louder.
“While AGVs have been part of supply chain operations
for a while now, emerging technology advances are
setting them free from set pathways,” MHI notes in its
annual report, “turning them into self-driving vehicles
that use various types of sensors to detect information
about the changing environment around them, and then
respond intelligently to that input.”
Robots also help enhance operational
flexibility, drive down operational
costs, promote business growth, and
improve customer service levels.
As demand for more efficient DCs continues, and as the
labor market shortage persists, companies that want to
compete effectively must factor robotics and automation
into their game plans. The companies that adapt and grow
will endure, with agile newcomers gaining the opportunity
to deliver on customer satisfaction better than today’s
incumbents. The firms that explore and iterate with
flexible automation will be best positioned to generate
new levels of customer satisfaction—all while leveraging
automation as a fundamental competitive requirement.
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Contact IAM Robotics today to learn how to maximize your
e-commerce operations around mobile robots.

12 South Avenue, Sewickley, PA 15143

info@iamrobotics.com | 412.626.7425

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IAM ROBOTICS
12 South Avenue
Sewickley, PA 15143

(412) 626-7425
info@iamrobotics.com
www.iamrobotics.com

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