Concept: Israeli startup BionicHIVE has developed SqUID, an autonomous robotic fleet for organized packaging and storage in warehouses. The robot can pick any item from floor to ceiling and retrofit it onto any existing warehouse infrastructure. The startup claims that the robot easily adapts to any warehouse’s working environment by using the existing facilities, packages, and shelving racks.
Nature of Disruption: SqUID comprises a synchronous autonomous robotic fleet that has three-dimensional movement capabilities for distinct operations. Its embedded control system with real-time data analysis enables BionicHIVE’s ML-based algorithmic engine to learn issues created in one warehouse and apply resolutions to all warehouses within the network. It can be mounted directly on any warehouse’s standard pallet rack to automate all package handling from receiving to shipping. SqUID comes with floor-to-ceiling picking capabilities to pick the packet from any location, with no difference if it is on the floor or 20m/60ft high. BionicHIVE claims that its service-based model can reduce the warehouses operating expenses and meet the increasing demand for larger stock-keeping unit quantities and dynamic pick face picking.
Outlook: The existing autonomous mobile robot warehouse automation solutions are unable to solve the essential warehouse problems of space inefficiency. Moreover, these solutions cannot be implemented by warehouses at scale given they demand dedicated space, intensive implementation effort, and significant capital expenditures. BionicHIVE boasts that SqUID is the only robotic fleet to retrofit automation on existing warehouse infrastructure with minimal change and minimal downtime, co-operating with existing operations and offering automation as a service.
This article was originally published in Verdict.co.uk