ProMat 2019: Swisslog to Showcase Next Generation, Fully Automated Robotic Solutions to Bring Greater Speed, Intelligence and Precision to Logistics

Swisslog’s exhibit will feature software-driven integration of advanced warehouse technologies designed to give e-commerce/retail and consumer goods fulfillment operations the flexibility and ease of operability to meet rapidly changing demands. The next generation of Swisslog’s innovative ItemPiQ robotic picking solution will be a highlight of the exhibit.

New Generation ItemPiQ: Fully Automated Robotic Item Picking

Swisslog’s ItemPiQ has been redesigned with new robotic technology and an intelligent vision system to offer supply chain customers higher pick rates and machine-learning capabilities that make it easier than ever to implement robotic picking in the warehouse.

The fully automated picking solution combines a proven Swisslog gripper system with new technology to achieve speeds of up to 1,000 picks per hour. At the core of the ItemPiQ solution is the latest version of the KUKA KR AGILUS-2. The 6-axis lightweight robot works with extreme precision, even in tight spaces, with the robotic arm extending up to 43 inches to reach into bins containing individual items. The vision system, consisting of a 3D camera and smart image recognition software, quickly and reliably identifies the optimal gripping points of the items to be picked and instructs the robot arm’s multifunction gripper.

“Picking is one of the most time- and cost-intensive processes in internal logistics. Picking and packing can account for nearly 50 percent of all logistics costs in industrial and commercial logistics and distribution centers,” said Markus Schmidt, President, Swisslog Logistics Automation, Americas. “ItemPiQ helps cut these costs permanently while helping alleviate labor shortages. This advanced version of the technology works faster, smarter, and with higher precision, while offering a very simple user interface. Best of all, the array of products to be picked can change continuously, making ItemPiQ exceptionally easy to implement and maintain.”

ItemPiQ can also be linked to the compact, cube based AutoStore warehouse storage and picking system via the standard ItemPiQBox interface. As the world's leading integrator of AutoStore with over 130 successful installations, Swisslog provides both its current and new customers rapid and easy entrance into the world of fully automated single-item picking.

CarryPick: Flexible, Scalable Goods-to-Person Automation

The Swisslog exhibit will also showcase the CarryPick solution, an automated storage and order fulfillment system that is a flexible, scalable asset for delivering high value to customers in multi-channel fulfillment operations. CarryPick’s automated guided vehicles, manufactured by Swisslog parent company KUKA, continuously supply workstations with mobile racks. This flexible new approach to automation supports different sizes and weights of products, provides the ability to add racks and AGVs quickly as storage volume increases and enables equipment to be easily moved from one warehouse to another.

The Swisslog exhibit will feature the dynamic interaction of innovative robotic components with Swisslog’s intelligent and modular SynQ software platform at its core. SynQ orchestrates the interaction of the individual robotics and warehouse technologies and provides for effective monitoring of ongoing processes. For the user, this means greater transparency over material flow processes and the ability to continually optimize, which boosts workflow efficiency.

Swisslog Experts to Present Educational Seminars at ProMat

TJ Fanning, Vice President, Consumer Goods, Swisslog Logistics Automation, along with Randy Jennings, Vice President, Primus Builders, Inc., and Sudarsan Thattai, Chief Information Officer, Lineage Logistics, will present Thriving in the Cold on Monday, April 8, 2019 from 3:45-4:30 PM in Theater F. Attendees will learn how they can achieve the lowest cost of ownership for a freezer warehouse from three of the leading industry experts. Each company will reveal the most important factors in building design and construction, automation, and operations/maintenance to achieve the highest energy efficiency, capacity and throughput.

John Dillon, Vice President, E-Commerce/Retail and David Schwebel, Vice President, Business Development and Market Intelligence, Swisslog Logistics Automation, will present Moving Beyond Bolted Down Conveyor and Sortation Equipment on Tuesday, April 9, 2019 from 2:15-3:00 in Theater F. Leading companies are searching for ways to move beyond the limitations of traditional mechanized automation into dynamic fulfillment solutions. This presentation will detail how flexible, scalable automation and mobile robotics are working in today’s fulfillment operations to deliver the ability to adapt to rapidly changing customer demands.