{"id":2266,"date":"2024-12-05T06:34:46","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T06:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sw-themes.com\/porto_dummy\/?p=2266"},"modified":"2025-12-10T12:22:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T12:22:14","slug":"top-dresses-for-next-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/?p=2266","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s driving the evolution of mobile robots?"},"content":{"rendered":"

lexibility, scalability and adaptability open more collaboration opportunities for AMRs<\/strong><\/p>

Mobile robots<\/a> aimed to enhance human efficiency and productivity have become more attainable over the last decade as technology has improved allowing for larger-scale automation<\/a> and better cost efficiency.<\/p>

Their ability to adapt and collaborate<\/a> with other people and systems is further driving demand at a time when companies are no longer willing to sacrifice flexibility for performance.<\/p>

\u201cThe trade-off between flexibility and performance is no longer appealing,\u201d said Jeff Larson<\/a>, director of solutions design for Ocado Mobile Robot Systems, Ocado Intelligent Automation<\/a>. \u201cIn fact, warehouses now require an additional third element: adaptability. That\u2019s where mobile robotics comes in.<\/p>

Also driven by labor shortages<\/a>, high turnover and safety<\/a> concerns, mobile robots are most commonly used across four major market segments: third-party logistics<\/a>, healthcare<\/a>, industrial<\/a> and retail<\/a>. Many different types of mobile robots are available, but at the heart of the solution is the end goal of creating more efficient workflows.<\/p>

\u201cOur role is to help make humans more efficient in buildings,\u201d said Rick Faulk<\/a>, CEO of Locus Robotics<\/a>, who adds that their solutions can double the efficiency of a human by reducing walk time and taking over manual, repetitive tasks.<\/p>

\u201cWe effectively make that whole process a lot easier, a lot more efficient, and frankly, make the lives of workers a lot better as well,\u201d Faulk says.<\/p>

A trifecta of adaptability, scalability and productivity<\/h2>

The automation of 10 to 15 years ago was mostly limited to conveyor<\/a>-based systems. Companies who could afford it would also add in a shuttle<\/a> system, but what these fixed systems all had in common was a lack of flexibility.<\/p>

While they delivered great performance, Larson said they created tough decisions for operators who had to decide between running a manual operation that could flex over time or committing to an expensive system that locked them into a fixed process for the next decade.<\/p>

As technology has advanced and costs have come down, mobile robots are eliminating that dilemma.<\/p>

\u201cMobile cobots work alongside people, integrate with other automation systems, and scale up or down as needed,\u201d Larson said. \u201cMore importantly, they provide true adaptability, meaning businesses can modify workflows, change pick paths or reconfigure their operations on the fly as their needs evolve.<\/p>

A third-party fulfillment<\/a> company recently worked with Ocado Intelligent Automation to deploy autonomous mobile robots (AMRs<\/a>) to work alongside associates as a workforce multiplier. They were experiencing limitations in fulfilling a high volume of orders for its retail e-commerce<\/a> clients, but after three months of AMR use, the client\u2019s picking<\/a> rates tripled.<\/p>

Many different types of mobile robots are available, but the end goal is creating more efficient workflows.<\/p>

\u201cWhat mobile robots do best is increase productivity without sacrificing flexibility,\u201d Larson said. \u201cRobots execute repetitive, physically demanding tasks, including handling pallets and quickly transporting cases over large warehouses.\u201d<\/p>

Scalability is another key driver of mobile robots, making the above scenario realistic and affordable for more than just industry leaders.<\/p>

\u201cFifteen years ago, it would be very hard to build a robot that had an ROI because the cost of these component parts was very expensive,\u201d Faulk said. \u201cThe cost profile has come down over the last seven, eight or nine years to enable us to produce a robot, build it and sell it for a price where I can actually get an ROI. The technology, that cost curve, the Moore\u2019s Law thing that you hear about is in effect.\u201d<\/p>

And unlike conveyors, which can take years to design<\/a> and install, Larson said mobile robots can deploy<\/a> in a matter of weeks or even days in some cases.<\/p>

\u201cWhether an operation needs to quickly add robots to meet seasonal demand or adjust workflows to accommodate changing order profiles, mobile robotics provide that agility,\u201d he added.<\/p>

The ability to scale also allows facilities to operate hundreds of robots together in any space – even brownfield<\/a> builds that were never designed to be automated.<\/p>

\u201cWe now have very sophisticated sensors that allow us to navigate,\u201d Faulk said. \u201cWe have some buildings that have over 700 robots\u2026in the early days, it was a challenge getting three robots running, and now we have buildings that have hundreds and hundreds of robots running in them.\u201d<\/p>

Mobile robts enhance the workforce<\/h2>

With automation, it almost always comes down to labor challenges, and the demand for mobile robots is no exception. The challenge is two-fold, with warehouses<\/a> and manufacturing<\/a> facilities across the country continuing to struggle to both attract and retain labor.<\/p>

\u201cTurnover in a lot of these facilities is measured in double digits a month, so once they get the labor, it turns over,\u201d Faulk explains.<\/p>

Mobile robots help bridge that gap by assisting employees and taking on repetitive and manual tasks, which allows them to focus on high-value and more rewarding work. The productivity benefits are obvious, but Larson said warehouses that deploy mobile robots also see higher employee satisfaction and retention rates.<\/p>

For Locus, deploying mobile robots<\/a> directly solves these challenges by making the workers and management of operations more efficient.<\/p>

\u201cThe whole goal is to take what is a manual operation, where if you were working in a building today, you would walk 13 to 15 miles a day in probably un-air-conditioned space\u2026and our goal is to make to you a lot more efficient and make your life a lot easier,\u201d Faulk said.<\/p>

Mobile robots have also become more accessible in recent years. Where once employees tasked with interacting with robotics require advanced technical knowledge, the industry is moving toward more approachable solutions so that every employee can operate and troubleshoot a robot.<\/p>

One way OTTO Motors<\/a> is doing this is by simplifying the user interface<\/a> using a touchscreen tablet with minimal buttons and options that require almost no training.<\/p>

\u201cMaking those sorts of interfaces that are tailored to the people who are going to be using it is a way of connecting the approachability of interacting with these robots and not having that technical depth that could be a barrier,\u201d said Jason Okerman<\/a>, staff software product manager at OTTO Motors.<\/p>

Advancements in software<\/a> are driving the next generation of mobile robots, and safety is a big part of that.<\/p>

Creating a safer working environment<\/h2>

Advancements in software are driving the next generation of mobile robots, and safety is a big part of that. Today\u2019s robots are equipped with advanced vision<\/a> systems, machine learning<\/a> and light detection and ranging (lidar<\/a>) technology, all working together to improve robot decision-making and autonomy.<\/p>

Ocado Intelligent Automation introduced Porter AMR<\/a>, which is designed to handle heavy-duty tasks such as crossdocking or bulk-item picking and effectively reduce the strain on human employees.<\/p>

\u201cSolutions like Porter enable pallet picking and movement at ground level and help reduce the risk of injury by removing workers from dangerous tasks,\u201d Larson said. \u201cIts lidar system and onboard cameras provide a full field of view, so it safely navigates warehouses while transporting large, heavy loads.\u201d <\/p>

Okerman adds that when we look at autonomous forklifts or similar use cases there\u2019s a proven track record for automation systems being safer than their equivalent.<\/p>

\u201cYou can have a case where doing that substitution and taking out some of the forklift operations gives more confidence to the people working who would like to be paying attention to what they\u2019re doing, instead of trying to pay attention to make sure they don\u2019t cross paths with a forklift that\u2019s driving by,\u201d Okerman said.<\/p>

As we move away from robots being niche to being everywhere, challenges around safety still remain. Emerging obstacles include increasing interoperability, working with mixed fleets<\/a> and balancing flexibility with predictability.<\/p>

\u201cWe want robots to be as predictable as possible around humans, so that their movements and when they stop and what they\u2019re doing is intuitive,\u201d Okerman added. \u201cThat has classically been a challenge that if you\u2019re going to have the robots be more flexible, then they\u2019re not predictable.\u201d<\/p>

Flexible robots are not fixed. They don\u2019t drive the same route over and over. Ensuring that what the robot does intuitively makes sense to human bystanders is still an area Okerman said the industry still has room to grow.<\/p>

AI is the future of mobile robot technology<\/h2>

Beyond just moving goods, mobile robots also generate valuable data that provides actionable insights to help logistics managers make decisions in real time. The introduction of AI<\/a> has enabled even more sophisticated decision-making, allowing mobile robots to operate in buildings in a completely new way.<\/p>

\u201cAI will drive better optimization and decision-making,\u201d Larson said. \u201cIt will improve forecasting and predictive analytics, allowing businesses to better prepare for peak demand periods. It will enhance (more than it already does) collaborative robotics, making robots not just work near humans, but truly collaborate with them.\u201d<\/p>

Locus is already creating its AI framework<\/a>, which Faulk said allows users to visualize data in ways they never could before.<\/p>

 \u201cOur robots now use AI to recognize obstacles, for example,\u201d he explained. \u201cAs they\u2019re driving around, they recognize a human, they recognize a forklift. If they see a forklift, they\u2019ll take a different action than they would if they saw a human.\u201d<\/p>

Locus also uses AI to improve operations and workflows. Take their client Ulta Beauty for example. <\/p>

Ulta gets hundreds of thousands of orders each week, and Locus is able to use their AI engine to look at all those orders and optimize them based on what units were ordered, where they are in the building, what the labor is in the building standing there at that time, based on the form factor and cubes of those items, and then induct the right orders on a robot to actually minimize the steps of a human in that building.<\/p>

\u201cThe impact of artificial intelligence on mobile robotics is just beginning to take off,\u201d Larson said. \u201cSome organizations are better positioned than others, but the true potential of AI is yet to be unlocked.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

lexibility, scalability and adaptability open more collaboration opportunities for AMRs Mobile robots aimed to enhance human efficiency and productivity have become more attainable over the last decade as technology has improved allowing for larger-scale automation and better cost efficiency. Their ability to adapt and collaborate with other people and systems is further driving demand at a time when companies are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-style-tips"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":{"landsacpe":["https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/news-1-1140x445.jpg",1140,445,true],"list":["https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/news-1-463x348.jpg",463,348,true],"medium":["https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/news-1-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"full":["https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/news-1.jpg",1920,1080,false]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2266"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8475,"href":"https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2266\/revisions\/8475"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seed-robotics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}