LOGISTICS
Delivering on e-commerce
Warehouses are becoming highly automated facilities that rely to a large extent on vision, as Andrew Williams discovers
I
n recent years a growing number of companies have begun to use vision technology in automated warehouses
and distribution centres, with devices like autonomous guided vehicles and techniques such as optical character recognition on the rise. Where are the key applications of vision technology, and what innovations can be expected in the coming years? One company involved in the automated
warehouse sector is Cognex, which makes a wide range of guidance, inspection, measurement and identification technology.
As Paul Eyre, director of sales for logistics and ID mobile at Cognex Europe, explained, the company’s products begin by acquiring an image of a customer’s product or part. Soſtware tools are then applied to analyse the image and provide an output, which can be anything from a data output with co-ordinates to a robot, a data string from a barcode to a PLC, an electrical output to a reject mechanism, and many other types of outputs using standard industrial communication protocols. Eyre pointed out that many post-
manufacturing, warehousing and distribution processes are still quite labour-intensive, but admits the rapid evolution of the e-commerce industry has changed consumer behaviour. ‘Consumers require products delivered to a
location of their choice in a short timeframe, and the ability to service this demand is paramount. Tis change in consumer
18 Imaging and Machine Vision Europe • December 2018/January 2019
behaviour, in addition to the difficulty in finding and retaining manual labour, has meant that many companies have begun to invest in automation, which is allowing companies to realise major gains in efficiency and throughput, and to better service the needs of a more demanding customer base,’ he said. According to Eyre, Cognex is playing a major
part in the drive to automate warehousing and distribution processes. He said Cognex’s image- based identification technology is helping warehouses and distribution centres improve their ability to track products from goods-in – to shipping – even right to the customer door. Eyre also revealed industry leaders like Edeka, in the grocery industry, and Zalando, in the e-commerce sector, use Cognex’s technology to identify products, even when labels are badly damaged or under plastic film, a task he feels laser-based technology struggles with.
@imveurope
www.imveurope.com
Don Pablo/
Shutterstock.com
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