TGW Logistics Group markets a picking robot for piece picking . The manufacturer and system integrator is still in full development, but the self-learning robot system is already capable of correcting events without human intervention and enables round-the-clock production. "The robot can now pick around 30 per cent of the assortment," says managing director Jan Willem Klinkenberg.
During the meeting Logistic: the next step on 23 May in Roosendaal, Klinkenberg, director TGW Living Logistics, told about the development of the robot, named Rovolution. The company itself talks about "the future of order picking".
Re-evaluating every situation
While goods-to-man systems can be found in many automated warehouses, order picking in e-commerce is still performed by human hands. "In e-commerce warehouses, as an order picker, you have to deal with a unique situation every time. The picker has to reassess each product." This generally makes the work unsuitable for robots, as they are unable to assess situations on their own. "We started working on that very thing and are still in the middle of that process."
That process has already resulted in a robot that uses the findings of cognitive robots and machine learning to correct unexpected events. Rovolution not only detects such situations, but can also deal with them and correct them completely independently.
Test at LogiMAT
At the LogiMAT in Stuttgart, Rovolution was shown to the public for the first time. Klinkenberg: "We asked visitors to think of an object that could be picked up by our robot. That was not only to entertain the visitors, but also a way for us to find out where areas for improvement lie."
30 per cent of the range
Currently, the robot can pick 30 per cent of a warehouse's assortment, according to Klinkenberg. That ranges from t-shirts in a soft polybag to a sturdy box of toys. "We have already put them away at some companies," he says. According to TGW, possible applications range from the apparel industry, the grocery industry to the general merchandise industry. The robot should provide a solution to the growing variety of orders and staff shortages that many companies are struggling with.
In a press release, TGW reveals that the robot is integratable with TGW's existing systems. Moreover, Rovolution's modular concept allows for subsequent upgrades.
