INDUSTRY News
SICK technology underpins Asda’s smart parcel-sorting hub
Supermarket giant Asda has selected the auto-identifi cation technology from SICK for its robotic sorting facility in Yorkshire, now achieving sorting accuracy of 99.9%. This Asda parcel-handling facility is the hub for its third-party collection and returns service, serving customers at over 600 Asda stores across the UK. Each parcel is placed by an operator on a conveyor infeed which travels up to meet a robot operating on the one metre-high platform. Two SICK Lector 652 image- based code readers are positioned at the top of each of four conveyors to read the barcode before the parcel transfers to a waiting robot. The robots then navigate using a grid of 2D codes to reach one of 34 diff erent exit chutes positioned along each side of the platform. The SICK sensors reliably read the
barcode labels on the wide variety of irregular-shaped parcels being sorted, regardless of their size, height or orientation. Labels are read accurately even when creased, crinkled or damaged or of poor-quality print and contrast. SICK Lector 650 image-based code
readers have a wide-angle lens and two megapixel resolution. Combined with advanced on-board image-processing technology, they achieve exceptionally high read performance, even with poorly-
A vieww of Asda’s sorting facility in West Yorkshire
printed or partially-destroyed codes, or where multiple codes are presented in a single image. Data from the Lectors is processed via the logic unit of a SICK MSC800 modular system controller. A requirement of the read is an input into the IDC warehouse management system. “Every barcode is recorded via the
warehouse control system, so we can interrogate each individual scanner, and go through every barcode. Once we begin to fully utilise the collected data, it becomes powerful. Good reads, no reads, throughput error messages and downtime
– that’s all useful information,” said Adam Mydlowski, General Manager of the Asda Yorkshire Cross-Dock Centre. “For example, if there is a particular infeed that keeps stopping, we can investigate to see if the problem lies with the scanner, belt, operator or barcode, that is helping us to get the most out of the whole operation. We have been able to really deep dive to achieve continuous improvements.” Once the parcels are correctly identifi ed, robot routes can be planned from anywhere on the grid. The system is adaptable and can be expanded according to the facility’s needs.
TCS and National Robotarium collaborate on cutting-edge robotics
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has teamed up with The National Robotarium at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, the UK’s largest and most advanced AI and robotics research centre, to jointly develop AI and robotic products and support related entrepreneurship, job creation and digital skills. The National Robotarium provides a data-driven incubator environment, where academics, technologists, businesses and robots work alongside each other.
By utilising the unique capabilities of the pioneering research centre, TCS and
8 October 2022 | Automation
The National Robotarium will be able to remove the risks associated with AI and robots, and accelerate the development and adoption of such systems to be used to tackle urgent societal issues, such as wellness and social care. “This unique and ground-breaking facility is already helping to inform and lead the future applications of robotics and AI on the global stage. Our strategic partnership with TCS will accelerate that process, ensuring that the expertise of the National Robotarium is sought after to address a multitude of global societal challenges,” said Dr Gillian Murray,
Deputy Principal for Business and Enterprise, Heriot-Watt University. TCS and The National Robotarium will work together with experts from Heriot- Watt University and the University of Edinburgh on applied engineering and joint research across multiple disciplines, including soft robotics, fi eld robotics, cobots and tele-operations. TCS will bring together the best of its innovation capabilities with TCS PACE to increase cross-industry collaboration and accelerate the development of advanced robotics solutions from laboratory to market.
automationmagazine.co.uk
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