Effortlessly reconfigurable lines, capable of adapting to any type of operation, is what the luminaire manufacturer Normagroup demanded. In the case of Decathlon, the big sports retailer, the request was to keep control of inventory and ensure available stock in shop, while professionals spent more time helping customers for a better shopping experience. The answer for both companies lay in Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) or Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) as they explained at Hispack.
The story goes back four years. Normagroup contacted Inser Robótica precisely during the celebration of the last edition of Hispack in 2018 because the design of its plant was old and the process involved many operators. The challenge was to automate transport between three production areas, the assembly area and an automated warehouse, travelling through confined spaces shared with factory staff.
Inser Robótica proposed to Normagroup to implement a fleet of 5 small Omron mobile robots, capable of carrying between 60 and 90 kilos, with automatic loading and unloading points and equipped with belt conveyors that operate as an “island”, able to connect with each other. The new devices were equipped with everything necessary to communicate via MQTT protocol with the EMS. Each AMR, which has memorised the optimal route, is able to correct its trajectory in case of unforeseen events. In addition, if you want to change the route, the robot can be reprogrammed in just one hour.
Easy implementation
In the case of Decathlon, the retailer with 1,714 shops in 61 countries was looking for a solution to provide accurate stock data while saving time for its professionals by avoiding manual data collection, directly impacting shop efficiency and productivity. PAL Robotics had the answer through its StockBot solution.
StockBot reads and detects all products in the shop and then validates the data. The use of this type of technology helps to gain better visibility of stock and, of course, automates inventory tracking and workflow. PAL Robotics technology provides stock and business data and integrates easily with RFID tags in the shop. When StockBot is configured, the robot can automatically take inventories in order to save reading time for the employees. In addition, it is easily implemented in different shops, as it does not require any design modifications and integrates seamlessly with existing software systems.
AMR was first deployed in Decathlon Singapore, and more recently in other countries, including France, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Ireland, Italy, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia and Australia.
These two cases are examples of how autonomous mobile robots (AMR) have come to transform end-of-line and intralogistics operations without conflicting with human capital and without the need for radical transformations in operations: in both cases it is the robot that adapts to the existing layout and lives in harmony with the employees.
Allies for end of line and intralogistics
The key to success, as confirmed by Marta Millet Pascual-Leone, R&D Project Manager at Robotnik, a company that develops its mobile robotics solutions from Valencia, is to make a correct assessment of the most appropriate operation to carry out with the AMRs/AGVs and, secondly, to carry out a correct flow analysis.
This phase is the essential preliminary step: it is necessary to study the AMR trajectories for the operations that will be required of them; the interaction between the different AMRs involved, identification of possible bottlenecks… In the case of Normagroup, for example, this step was performed with Omron’s Fleet Simulator software. It is not always realised at the time of implementation that there are critical issues such as the correct management of battery recharging and the updating of the systems of the entire fleet, which have to be well thought through to avoid operational downtime. For this reason, among other issues, it is essential to carry out the evolution project towards AMR with the help of qualified suppliers such as Inser Robótica, PAL Robotics or Robotnik.
Their easy configuration, their ability to work in collaborative environments, their ability to perform omnidirectional movements, the possibility of incorporating their own HMI and/or fleet management system make AMRs the perfect ally when it comes to making end-of-line and intralogistics operations more flexible. Whether used as a mobile platform, designed to move material from one point to another for production or storage; in the form of a mobile manipulator—collaborative robotic arms integrated into mobile platforms—or as an ally for stock management through radio frequency technologies, AMRs are here to stay in intralogistics.
Constanza Saavedra, Hispack collaborator
