At Prime Vision, we have been mining the potential of our autonomous sorting robots non-stop. Our Robin rovers interpret and traverse intricate floorplans with multiple infeed points and currently sort to up to 250 sorting destinations. Throughput will increase in 2024 to 4000 parcels per hour. The continuous development of our robotic system is driven by in-house technology and customer requirements.
In brief the robotics development over 2023 compared:
We have been upgrading our autonomous robotic sorting system in three main areas: larger fields, larger fleets, and multiple infeeds. We now process higher volumes, reach higher throughputs, and relieve the effects of persisting staff shortages. The continuous development of our sorting robots over the past 12 months has shaped them from being helpful to an essential asset in the fulfillment center.
This is underlined by developments in the ‘team-player’ area: our robots can be seamlessly integrated with traditional sorting set-ups as well as the newest technologies like: Automatic Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS), handover belts, and robot arms.
Seamless Integration
Starting 2023, we deployed systems of 12 to 20 rovers, in fields measuring on average 20 by 20 metres (66 x 66 ft.). At multiple customer sites we have now set up fields measuring 50 by 60 metres (approximately 200 x 165 ft.), in which 60 to 65 robots are doing their job. So, the sorting fields have grown from the size of your backyard to half a soccer field. We are currently working with up to 8 infeed points.
Better navigation, higher throughput
To successfully realize the larger fleets, larger fields, and multiple infeed points, we have developed Load Balancing and Time-Based Scheduling. This duo enables us to increase the number of parcel-induction points and to drive closer together without traffic jams, thus increasing robot density and system throughput by 50%, now reaching 1500-2000 items towards 300 directions.
Time-based scheduling also synchronizes the robots to the new handover belt, smoothing the transition from belt to robot. The combination of the belt and the robots further reduces and can even eliminate the need to manually handle parcels. The handover-belt combination is especially well suited for non-machinable items (see next paragraph).
With additional planned developments, throughput will increase by an additional 50% to 60% in the first half of 2024, to 2,400 parcels per hour. In the second half of next year, this number will have gone up to 4000 parcels per hour.
Non-machinables
From the start, our rovers have been ideally suited for taking on oversized and odd-shaped items – the non-machinables. For this category, the Prime Vision robotic sorting system provides a 20-40% increase in throughput over a traditional oversized-parcel sorter.
With a 60×80 cm (23.6 x 31.5 inch) loading surface standing at a height of 1.12 m (44.1 inch), the AMRs alone take over a large part of workers’ physical workload, carrying items up to approximately 35 kg. (77 lb.). Add a handover belt and your staff doesn’t have to bend and lift at all.
The loading surfaces of both the robots and our new handover belt lack raised edges, so they can transport items that far exceed their dimensions. Robotic non-machinable sorting can be further enriched by adding a dimensioning tunnel to the set-up, to gain insight into the height, length and width of the transported items.
The Future of Robotic Sorting
The advancements in autonomous robotic sorting in general and at Prime Vision specifically, signify a new era in logistics and fulfillment. One where efficiency, quality, and versatility reign supreme. Investing in the latest mobile sorting robots is not just keeping up with the times; it’s paving the way to a smarter, more effective future.
