As automation becomes the dominant buzzword of the entire industrialized world, how to make warehouses smarter and more automated remains a sticky point. Israel-based BionicHIVE thinks they’ve come up with a pretty smart solution, known as the SqUID.
Who are BionicHIVE, and what is the SqUID?
BionicHIVE is an Israeli company with a strong history in developing robots, AGVs, UAVs and complex command and control systems for military contracts. However, the SqUID system is quite a different animal altogether. It is primarily developed to simplify warehouse management, an operation that applies just as much to the civilian world as to the military one.
Using the movement and guidance technology at their disposal, BionicHIVE have created an autonomous warehouse robot fleet that can be retrofitted to any warehouse with standard pallet racks. The impact of this is that automation can happen in warehouses without a full overhaul of the entire operation, making it more cost-effective, and simpler to implement.
The SqUID robots roam the warehouse floor heading to their destination pallet racks, where they then climb the racks using mounted rails, allowing them access to packages and cases stored from floor to ceiling. The SqUID is just as happy fetching items from ground level as it is up to 60-feet high.
BionicHIVE SqUID: Key technology
Which of BionicHIVE’s technologies are the ones that make SqUID work so well? First of all, there’s the Real-Time Traffic Management (RTTM) core that’s connected to a self-learning controller unit that handles the various missions and constraints of each unit in the fleet. The SqUID also makes judicious use of AI technology. It learns the individual needs of its unique users and the particular features of their warehouse. It also uses smart mathematical models to resolve questions and problems in real time.
On top of that, it makes use of cutting-edge obstacle avoidance and maneuvering technology, as well as substitution technology if any one robot breaks down. In this way, the workplace is kept safe as the robots operate without collision or error. However, when one does experience difficulty, a replacement can be dispatched on the same task and the other recovered for repair. In other words, at the heart of the technology is safety and smoothness.
How BionicHIVE SqUID is changing the game
With the way that the robots can move vertically and horizontally along pallet racks, the need for warehouse staff to risk their personal safety atop ladders and lifters is effectively eliminated. This is the first game-changing feature.
The second game-changing feature is how it can be fitted into warehouses alongside existing workflow. Far from shutting down warehouses to renovate and rebuild it in its new automated form, SqUID can be fitted aisle by aisle and can work alongside regular workflow as it is implemented over time. In essence, warehouse operators can tailor the timeframe in which the system is put into place, minimizing disruption.
Furthermore, it can be used at any level of the warehouse operation, from receiving to shipping. This offers further flexibility as users can install it to whatever degree/level they need, as opposed to having to opt for an all-or-nothing solution. Learn more about the BionicHIVE SqUID at the company’s website.
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