Automation dominates MODEX

After reduced attendance and exhibitor withdrawals in 2020, MODEX is under way at the Georgia World Congress Center, in Atlanta, wrapping up this evening US time.To get more news about Tompkins Robotics GRS, you can visit glprobotics.com official website.

Initial reports suggest significant visitor numbers and meaningful exchanges with the 850-plus exhibitors.

As flagged in the previews, automation and robotics feature strongly on the trade show floor.

Locus Robotics is showing an expanded line of warehouse AMRs with the introduction of Locus Vector and Locus Max. These new form factors are designed for applications from e-commerce, case-picking and pallet-picking to scenarios requiring larger, heavier payloads to support the full range of product movement needs in today’s fulfilment and distribution warehouses.

New Jersey-based OPEX Corporation has added an innovative, goods-to-person (G2P) solution to its warehouse automation portfolio. The Infinity solution combines enhanced storage density, configurability and flexibility to meet the most pressing warehouse automation challenges for companies handling micro-fulfilment, omni-channel distribution, store replenishment and e-commerce, according to the company.

Automated G2P technology delivers the right item or SKU at the right time to the right operator or workstation, increasing productivity, throughput, and labour utilisation by eliminating wasted time.

Canada’s Otto Motors has used MODEX to launch its OTTO Lifter, which it claims is the smartest autonomous forklift on the market.

OTTO Lifter is an autonomous forklift that drives nimbly in crowded and dynamic environments and improves safety in warehouses and facilities. With advanced safety sensors and class-leading autonomous driving capabilities, OTTO Lifter works alongside people, other vehicles, and existing infrastructure, providing businesses with a safer materials handling solution. The autonomous forklift is compatible with the entire Otto Motors fleet of AMRs through Otto Motors’ Fleet Manager.
China’s Hai Robotics is showing its flexible totes-to-person warehouse automation solution alongside technology from MHS, SVT Robotics, GreyOrange and Tompkins Robotics.

Just before the show, Hai Robotics announced new partnerships with Tompkins Robotics and Storage Solutions that will see Hai technology and solutions applied to various industries across North America.

The display includes the award-winning HAIPICK A42T, and the new HAIPICK A3 fork-lifting robot designed for wider warehousing scenarios in addition to bin storage.

Tompkins Robotics also used MODEX to showcase its new partnership with Global Robotics Services (GRS) for its collaborative robots as a service (RaaS) solution.

The Tompkins Robotics - GRS RaaS solution provides customers with the ability to pay for what they consume, including equipment, installation, commissioning and support costs, all of which are included in the service level agreement (SLA).

BlueBotics, which was recently acquired by Zapi Group, is hosting a multi-brand fleet demo of vehicles driven by its ANT technology.

The company’s booth features several different brands of vehicles, spanning automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) from across the ANT navigation ecosystem.

The vehicles are running a small pallet-moving operation, all controlled by one ANT server software project. The fleet includes an automated tow tractor with cart, a forked AGV, three BlueBotics mini lite autonomous mobile robots, plus an industrial cleaning robot.

BlueBotics used MODEX to announce that it had been chosed by Oceaneering International to provide navigation technology for its line of industrial autonomous mobile robots.

Henny Bouwmeester, vice president and general manager of Oceaneering Mobile Robotics, says

BlueBotics, with its proven technology that requires little to no additional infrastructure, “will be an integral part of our solution stack and is highly complementary to our product and service offerings”.

Fanuc America is demonstrating two new CRX collaborative robots, and a variety of automation solutions for the warehousing and logistics industries at Modex 2022.

The new CRX cobots complement Fanuc’s existing line of CR and CRX cobots that now total 11 model variations, able to handle products from 4 - 35 kg.