AI-enabled robot manufacturer Berkshire Grey has unveiled its latest Intelligent Enterprise Robotic (IER) picking and mobility solution, which incorporate a new generation of mobile robots.
According to the company, this new generation of mobile robots offers increased fulfilment throughput at a lower cost point to enable shorter delivery times and support a larger number of SKUs.
“Rapid delivery for virtually any product is now table stakes for fulfilment and the market has not offered powerful solutions to enable most businesses to meet this need,” said Kevin Prouty, vice president at IDC.
“Companies like Berkshire Grey that have deep IP can have a large advantage in orchestrating tens to thousands of mobile robots, to pick millions of SKUs, and enable a company to significantly accelerate throughput at an attractive capital expenditure. Innovations like these help companies to meet increasing consumer expectations and to do so in a competitive fashion.”
Berkshire Grey’s AI-based orchestration software enables many robots to work together in a performant fashion, where robots improve and learn over time. The company said this enables activities carried out by different robots and modules to be coordinated.
According to Berkshire Grey, the fleets of mobile robots can integrate robotic picking and increase automation levels as well as fulfilment speeds. Facilities can deploy the new robot systems in both existing and new fulfilment centre in one-third of the time of legacy systems.
The robots can also handle greater SKU coverage, including heavier items, non-conveyables, and challenging items like shrink-wrapped packages. The system can rotate and adjust positions, pass under shelves and conveyor belts, and function without a tray or tote container.
Steve Johnson, president of Berkshire Grey, added: “We developed this next generation of IER solutions to achieve higher throughput at lower cost in a third of the deployment time.
“Berkshire Grey’s industrial-grade mobile robots work together at unprecedented scale to deliver a step-change in speed and intelligence for any fulfilment centre. Best of all, our software gets smarter over time, speeding efficiencies, while enabling maximum flexibility for businesses to meet rapidly changing consumer demands.”
