Locus Robotics, makers of autonomous mobile robots for fulfillment, and RightHand Robotics, creators of a stationary robotic picking arm, have partnered to work on joint solutions that combine batch picking and conveyance with automated sortation.
Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics, said RightHand was chosen due to its “high degree of accuracy” in order picking and processing.
“You need close to 100% accuracy,” Faulk said. “There can’t be mistakes and mis-shipments or customers are unhappy. We’re at the point now where (robotic picking) has become much more reliable, in terms of picking the right item and the right quantity in the right spot. Several years ago, it was a bit of an art, but today it’s more of a science.”
Faulk said while there are no beta clients of the combined solution, the companies are in discussion with several “high-volume ecommerce companies,” adding it was demonstrated recently at Manhattan’s Momentum user conference.
“These are companies that need that need efficiency, speed, low cycle times and cost effectiveness,” he said. “This makes sense in an organization that’s shipping tens of thousands of units per day. It’s not the right use case if they’re below 10,000 units a day.”
Leif Jentoft, co-founder of RightHand, said his company has been pursuing partnerships that expand what’s possible in terms of achieving greater efficiency in automated, high-volume ecommerce order fulfillment.
“We were impressed with Locus and their focus on creating strong customer value, not just having a cool robot for its own sake,” Jentoft said. “It has to be the best solution to a customer’s problem.”