Honeywell has announced a strategic collaboration with Otto Motors, a division of Clearpath Robotics, giving warehouses and distribution centres throughout North America an automated option to handle some of the most labour-intensive roles.
The collaboration enables Honeywell customers to increase efficiency, reduce errors and improve safety by deploying Otto’s autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) in facilities. These AMRs are designed to provide productivity benefits by automating the movement of carts used to transport picked orders or returns and can travel over any floor surface smooth enough to handle a traditional cart pushed by a worker.
Instead of spending more than half the day walking, workers can simply park carts in designated pickup locations throughout the facility and call robots to retrieve them.
These AMRs also offer a flexible and powerful way to transport pallets typically accomplished primarily with forklifts and conveyor systems.
“Supply chains continue to be stressed by staffing shortages and consumer demands driving expectations of speedy and accurate fulfilment,” said Keith Fisher, president of Honeywell Intelligrated.
“Tackling the more dynamic, unstructured environments of today’s distribution centres calls for more sophisticated robots, and OTTO’s AMRs have been proven to be deployed and adapted quickly to changing market conditions or peak buying seasons.”
Otto added its easy-to-install AMRs are smart enough to interact safely with human co-workers and other vehicles, find a different route if its original path is blocked, and respond to rapid changes in orders or logistics needs — all without human intervention.
Additionally, the AMRs can work in conjunction with Honeywell automated solutions including its Smart Flexible Depalletizer and AS/RS system, further increasing efficiency and automation within the warehouse.
“Otto Motors provides autonomous material handling inside manufacturing facilities and warehouses and is the technology behind some of the largest deployments of AMRs in North America,” said Matt Rendall, CEO and co-founder of Otto Motors. “
Our relationship with Honeywell shows we partner with the very best integrators and tech leaders to provide business with industry expertise to automate a wide range of workflows in their facilities.”
While AMRs handle repetitive and often time-consuming tasks, increasingly scarce labour resources can be shifted to higher-value jobs, the collaboration said. This alone delivers multiple benefits, such as boosting worker satisfaction, while reducing injuries and turnover rates.
The Otto Motors partnership aims to give Honeywell customers a complete suite of fixed and mobile robotics solutions, backed by expert systems integration, solutions development and reliable 24/7 technical support.
