More and more warehouses are experimenting with robots. But the deployment of the new generation of robots in particular is still in its infancy. How can we use this technology to further improve productivity? That will be the focus during 'Warehouse Robotics', the Material Handling Forum seminar taking place during the ICT & Logistics trade fair on Thursday 8 November.
Robots in the warehouse are not new. But where traditional robots did their work safely behind large fences, a new generation of robots has emerged in recent years to work between and with people in the warehouse. These collaborative robots - cobots for short - can give a new boost to productivity in our warehouses. But how?
Zone picking with AGVs
Cobots come in different shapes and sizes, ranging from static articulated arm robots that assist in picking and packing items to mobile, autonomous vehicles (AGVs) that follow order pickers closely with pallets, roll cages or other load carriers. Only by working with cobots in practice will new concepts emerge. What about zone picking using AGVs?
The Material Handling Forum will present the results of scientific research into such new concepts on 8 November. Two researchers from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Alexandros Pasparakis and Kaveh Azadeh, will share the conclusions of an experiment on the deployment and optimisation of AGVs in order picking. Prof René de Koster, president of the Material Handling Forum, talks about the deployment of robots for sorting processes.
Collaborating successfully with robots
What remains unexposed in most stories about cobots is the effect on the people in the warehouse. Are they willing to cooperate with cobots? What does it take to make the cooperation between humans and machines a success? How can they complement each other? And what competences do managers need to make the most of the opportunities offered by cobots?
The Material Handling Forum also tries to find answers to these questions. Pascale Le Blanc and Sonja Rispens, both assistant professors at Eindhoven University of Technology, will discuss the relationship between humans and robots. Josje Verbeeten of the recently founded Robot Academy explains how to train people to work with robots.
