The warehousing landscape is rapidly transforming, buoyed by the rapid growth of e-commerce as well as shortages of labor and warehouse capacity.
Investment in automation is surging. According to Interact Analysis, a research firm, the global market will grow from $31 billion annually as of 2021 to $77 billion by 2027.
The hottest segment of that burgeoning industry is mobile robots. “Mobile robots have become the most significant trend in the automation market in recent years,” said Rueben Scriven, research manager at Interact Analysis. “By 2027, they will account for 30% of total warehouse automation revenues, equating to around $14 billion.
Mobile Robots Will Mainly Replace Human Operators Rather than Displace Other Automation
“Although mobile robots are thought to be displacing fixed automation alternatives, this isn’t necessarily the case. They are often opening up new market opportunities that would otherwise remain manual. This type of technology is best suited to situations that require flexibility and scalability, whereas fixed automation is more appropriate in scenarios where increased throughput is the main goal.”
According to Makreo, another research firm, more than 80% of warehouses still lack automation at this time. While only 5% of warehouses use sophisticated automation technologies and procedures, and only 15% are automated to a lesser degree, given that mobile robots can increase warehouse productivity by 30%, Makreo sees a substantial growth opportunity.
Equipment Operators from $9 Per Hour
Wouldn’t you like to have forklift drivers who always show up and never have a safety incident? The biggest driver for increased investment in mobile robotics has been the cost and availability of labor, which has been exasperated by the rise of e-commerce. AMRs (automated mobile robots) provide availability where labor shortages exist and attractive cost figures versus human operators. For example, OTTO reports that its Lifter autonomous forklift costs only $9 per hour to run. Other drivers include the increasing availability of robotic technologies, ease of use and falling prices.
In warehouse settings, the foremost application is for mobile robots that bring goods to human order pickers (goods to person). This approach was adopted early by Amazon and has continued to grow. For its part, Amazon has over 200,000 mobile robots deployed across its facilities.
The goods-to-person approach can dramatically improve order picker productivity versus conventional order picking, which involves them traveling through the warehouse to various stationary product bins to assemble an order. And conventional order picking becomes even less efficient the smaller the order quantity – as in the case of e-commerce, where the order picker might be traveling a considerable distance just for one or two items.
Those mobile robots are sometimes called automated mobile robots (AMRs) or mobile industrial robots (MiRs). They are significantly different from automated guided vehicles (AGVs), a warehouse technology that has been utilized for many years.
How AGVs Differ from Mobile Robots
So how do AGVs differ from mobile robots? The key differentiator is that AMRs use free navigation through the use of lasers. AGVs, on the other hand, only run prescribed routes, guided by wire or magnetic tape on the warehouse floor, beacons and other technologies. AGVs are more widely used in manufacturing plants with a predictable workflow. Warehousing is more complicated. Each order is unique and might require items from various areas of the warehouse. Given their advanced software and software, AMRs have much greater flexibility and a broader range of capabilities.
The role of mobile robots is increasing and expanding, with use cases such as robotic floor cleaning and others, including autonomous forklifts for moving unit loads horizontally and vertically.
Autonomous Forklifts Get Better at Pallet Entry and High Bay Racking Applications
For example, BALYO now offers “Reachy,” its autonomous forklift that can lift unit loads higher than 36 feet to place them in storage racking systems. Earlier this year, BALYO announced that Behr Paint was introducing fleets of Reachy autonomous trucks at four of its distribution centers.
“The robotization of logistics flows for high-bay storage remains an untapped challenge facing manufacturers and logisticians and BALYO is perfectly positioned to meet this growing demand,” commented Pascal Rialland, CEO of BALYO.
A few notable areas of product improvement include dealing with the complexity of pallet entry and outdoor handling environments. The OTTO Lifter, for example, can determine if a pallet is properly seated, if it is centered or skewed, and whether stretch wrap is covering entry notches. To date, most mobile robots have been designed with indoor environments in mind. Increasingly, however, there have been advances aimed at outdoor or uneven terrain usage, which eventually might make them attractive to pallet companies.
Case in point: Honda has just released the latest version of its Honda Autonomous Work Vehicle (AWV). It is an autonomous truck that can hold two pallets weighing up to 2,000 pounds. While a forklift will still be required to load and unload, it can improve productivity by eliminating the need for forklift travel from the storage location to the point of use, handled instead by the AWV. This unit has been designed for off-road applications such as those in the construction industry.
Pallets and Mobile Robots: Where’s the Connection?
For some mobile robots, such as platforms, pallet quality isn’t necessarily a critical issue. In earlier reports, however, I have emphasized the importance of pallet quality for applications such as autonomous forklifts or for other applications where mobile robots are interacting with more sensitive material handling equipment such as rollers or pallet shuttle systems, for example.
Autonomous forklifts, as mentioned above, are becoming more adept at pallet entry. One potentially exciting area with self-driving machines is the opportunity to reduce pallet damage. Although I am unaware of any research in this area, imagine lift truck fleets that never slam into a pallet too hard, never enter a pallet with the forks at an angle, and never short-fork a skid. To the extent that mobile robots consistently exhibit best practices in pallet handling, there could be some exciting reductions in pallet damage. We will have to wait for the results over time.
