The Robots are coming

Robots That Pick Up and Sort Objects Created for Simplifying Warehouses

Researchers have developed a robot that can pick up and sort objects to help improve warehouse efficiency.

February 21, 2018

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Sorting and organizing may not always be the most difficult tasks, but they can certainly get tedious. While it has been difficult in the past to teach machines to do that task, researchers at MIT and Princeton have developed a robot that can do it just that. In the future, it could be used for things like warehouse sorting or cleaning up a disaster area.

The team first trained the robot how to determine the best way to grip an object. They showed it bins of various items and then demonstrated which of four main grasping behaviors was the best option for a particular object. They did this over and over again, labeling which attempts were successful and which were not. Eventually, they plugged all of the information in a deep neural network. 

Once the object is gripped and lifted out of the bin, the robot then has to figure out what it is. In their setup, the researchers have a set of cameras that take pictures of the object from all sorts of angles and those images can then be compared to a library of other images the robot has access to. Once it finds a close match, the robot then moves the object to another bin, based on what the item is.

At the Amazon Robotics Challenge last July, the robot was able to successfully grasp objects 75 percent of the time and it correctly classified each novel item it was presented with. 

An interesting article from supply chain executive

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The e-commerce food industry is changing

Competition in the grocery sector continues to heat up as Kroger considers purchasing online wholesaler Boxed.

With the news of Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, buying Whole Foods for $137 billion last year, the U.S. grocery market looked for ways to compete.  In December, Target announced that they would be buying the same-day delivery service Shipt.

Boxed sells bulk products such as dish soap and chips to customers’ front door. Kroger’s consideration occurs as more shoppers order their products online. The New York-based company is expecting more offers within the next couple of weeks as Morgan Stanley advises.

Kuecker Logistics Group is a leader in the warehousing distribution automation industry. The changes we are now seeing pushed forward by Amazon means the grocery industry must change and change fast and we can assist in that change. Call Jim today at 816-348-3100 tell him Joe sent you!

The manufacturing economy is doing well

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) recently offered a look at how fourth quarter financial results impacted the U.S. economy and the industrial sector.

• A report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that the U.S. economy grew 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter, which was lower than the 3.1 percent and 3.2 percent gains seen in the second and third quarters, respectively. While consumer, business, and government spending grew, net exports and inventory spending decreased to bring this number down.
• For 2017, real GDP increased by 2.3 percent, up from 1.5 percent in 2016 and slightly above the annual average of 2.2 percent since the recession ended. Moving forward, the NAM anticipates three percent growth driven by tax reform and other measures it describes as “pro-growth.”
• According to the NAM, the IHS Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing PMI rose to 55.5 in January – its best reading in nearly three years. New orders, output, and exports all accelerated in January, with demand and production hitting 12-month highs.
• Employment news was a bit mixed. While hiring has slowed since reaching a 38-month high in December, there are a number of positive indicators. They include high levels of NAM member optimism and growth in consumer demand and shipments.
• The Census Bureau reported that new durable goods orders rose 2.9 percent in December, extending the 1.7 percent gain seen in November. The increase stemmed primarily from strong defense and non-defense aircraft and parts sales. New durable goods orders are up 11.5 percent since December 2016.

More to come

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Let us demonstrate first hand, the latest technology on the market right here in our facility. Please call us today and have us arrange a demonstration for you!

The robots are coming!

It is a fact that the age of the robot is coming fast. I see that in retail robots are being used now to stock, to reorder and to give directions to patrons. The question is, is this a good thing or a bad thing? In regards to jobs at a retail store, this can not be good as the robot might take jobs that use to be done by humans. The good is that if you have the programming talent then high paying jobs to program these robots will be needed. Robots have grown in the distribution facility area also and they are making over time significant impact on a distribution facility bottom line. So it is apparent that as long as automation in one form or another continues to make more profits and cut expenses then this trend will continue!

More to come.

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