SMART FACTORY
WORKING IN UNISON: THE YALE ROBOTICS SOLUTION
R
obotics and humans working together, the workforce of the future – or is it? For the materials handling industry, this is already possible. “Robotics can liberate employees to conduct tasks that humans do best,” explained Ron Farr, warehouse solutions manager for Yale. “Having robots working alongside humans leverages the strengths of both to make repetitive tasks and more complex, value-added functions more efficient. It can also provide new opportunities for people with physical limitations to serve as integral parts of the process, as robots can move inventory to pickers and help keep the operation flowing.”
HOW THE ROBOT INTERACTS WITH ITS ENVIRONMENT
“The Yale robots, driven by Balyo geoguidance technology, are fitted with advanced obstacle detection technology which enables it to react to the situation,” said Farr. “Once the robot has detected something ahead, it can control its speed in a smooth and efficient movement to minimise stops and shocks, slowing down to a complete stop if needed.”
The Yale robotics MC-10-15 counterbalance stacker can interact with and access pallets at height – for example, on conveyor belts or second or third shelves up to a height of 1.8m. The front laser allows the robot to sense the pallet, and the barcode scanner identifies the correct pallet to fulfil the instruction.
An additional rear scanner is installed for instances when the counterbalance stacker is travelling in the forks-forward direction. A curtain laser scans for additional above-ground obstacles, while side lasers provide a full 360 degree coverage at all times.
20 JULY/AUGUST 2020 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
“The robot also informs those working in the environment of its status, emitting an audio warning and projecting a blue LED spotlight on to the ground when it is in motion. A light mounted at eye-level flashes if the truck is about to turn, which flashes more rapidly while the truck is completing a turn” continued Farr.
EASE OF COMMUNICATION
All trucks in the Yale robotics range, which includes the MO50-70T robotic tow tractor and MO10-25 low level order picker, feature a touchscreen interface to give instructions to the robot, and can all be switched to manual mode at the touch of a button to complete tasks outside of the truck’s pre- programmed parameters.
Logistics operators can interact with the robot with real-time truck management. The software can integrate with existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Warehouse Management Systems (WMS). “The software can be used to assign tasks to individual trucks and is used to control the flow of traffic” explained Farr.
“The robotic solutions can be linked to other equipment in the warehouse, for example the conveyers can call the robot to remove a product. Fire alarms can tell the truck to stop in a safe area that does not hinder pedestrians exiting” said Farr.
“Warehouse managers can schedule the charging of the robots, which enables the use of cheaper night time rates. The trucks can go on charge on rotation, rather than all the robots arriving at lunchtime. This can help with the running costs of the vehicle, as well as maintenance, as it’s all very predictable.”
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