Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
Within the context of booming eCommerce, resolving issues of warehouse logistics arises as another pandemic-aggravated priority. A priority with many different robotic solutions. The Exotec Skypod solution is a towering, three-dimensional solution, primarily addressing order processing and storage space, including issues of retrieval and accelerated speed. The video below shows the Skypods in action.
The essential components of the Exotec
Skypod system are stackable bins and a fleet of autonomous robots, able to
navigate the stacks in three dimensions (up, down and across). The Skypods travel 4
meters per second (approx., 13ft/s) to retrieve and deliver merchandise to the operator stations. The robots' activity is synchronized using a software package called ASTAR. Stackable bins, available in 2 sizes,
carry up to 30 kilos (approx., 66 lbs) of merchandise. Bins are stackable
up to 10 meters high (approx., 33 feet). Thus, operators are able to
work at ergonomically-designed stations. They no longer have to walk an estimated 15
km per day (approx. 10 miles/day) in the stacks, where pedestrian accidents occur. Space
is optimized, due to vertical stacking. Adding racks, and stacks, does not
interrupt the existing flow of activity. The energy footprint of the system is also very small, due to the robots’ recharging
capacity. In sum, the system is super scalable, which also makes the Exotec Skypod system super nimble, customizable, and modular.
Exotec, a French company launched in 2014,
has now opened offices in North America. The various mechanical (e.g., robot climbing system), logistics (eg., sorting system) and navigation aspects of the Skypod invention are patented in
a series of patent families, including the following French patent family members (with
English patent titles in parenthesis):
- FR3072371 A1 - Système de stockage et de
transport d'objets entreposés dans des rayonnages d'un entrepôt. (System for
storing and transporting objects stored in the racks of a warehouse.)
- FR3065208A1 - Chariot à guidage automatique pour le transport et/ou la manutention d'une charge.
(Automatically guided trolley for transporting and/or handling a load.)
- FR3057258 A1 - Système de préparation de commandes. (Order picking system.)
- FR3048238A1 - Système de tri d'articles et procédé de tri correspondant. (Article
sorting system and corresponding sort method.)
- FR3045895 A1 -
Système de preparation de commandes et procédé de
préparation d'au moins une partie d'une commande correspondant. (System for
preparing orders and corresponding method for preparing at least one portion of
an order.)
The Exotec Skypod system is 3D-warehousing, brought to you from the northern city of Lille, in France. A solution that integrates with existing Warehouse-Management Systems (WMS).
References
Skypod– Exotec solutions
https://www.exotec.com/ (FR)
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