With the rapid development of the robotics industry, more and more robots have entered the factory. In this case, "Iron Man," Musk said that Model 3 is entirely produced by robots, and that Amazon has a robotic warehouse.
In 2012, Amazon acquired Kiva Systems, which greatly enhanced Amazon's logistics system. The kiva system is two to four times more efficient than traditional logistics operations. The robot can run 30 miles per hour with an accuracy of 99.99%. Amazon’s acquisition has brought great convenience to Amazon. But for current Kiva users (including Quiet Logistics), this is a special problem because once the contract period with Kiva is over, they need to find new robots.
Therefore, Kiva robots can provide tremendous value, and they will suddenly appear as potential vacancies. This has made many companies jealous. Adept, Fetch, ClearPath, IAM Robotics, and Magazino all started to stare at the Kiva robot market.
Instead of relying on other new platforms, Quiet Logistics decided to develop its own robots, and the Locus robot was born.
The original intention of Locus robot design is to assist the staff to complete the distribution and delivery tasks of the warehouse. The Locus can be moved with a camera and 2D barcode validation, and can use the radar system to track its position in the preset map. Locus knows where each item is in the warehouse and automatically navigates to where the item is located to perform tasks. At this time, the role of the workers is to patrol the warehouse area. When they find a robot standing by the shelf, the worker only needs to see what it needs on its screen, sorted out and then patrols, the robot goes to the next position, or directly Drive to the freight station. Therefore, workers do not have to carry anything or run warehouses for an order, which greatly increases efficiency.
Recently, IEEE Spectrum interviewed the chairman and founder of Quiet Logistics and Bruce Welty, chairman of the Locus robotics project. The following is the interview content:
Q: Can you briefly introduce Locus?
A: Locus was formed in Quiet Logistics: We started to build Locus because Kiva was acquired by Amazon when Quiet was a Kiva user, so we decided to build our own robot. In fact, around 2010 we started designing Locus. We like the advantages of Kiva, but it is also where we are not satisfied. Therefore, we need to make Locus better than Kiva.
Q: How did you start designing a new robot?
A: At first, we created a robot based on Arduino. However, afterwards, it had some problems. We quickly realized that the problem was not a hardware problem but a software problem. Software problems were our strengths. Later, all Willow Garage software can be open source, so we do not have to create everything from scratch, we can start with the basic functions, and then slowly improve the upgrade, the robot is also a version of a version was born.
By the sixth version, our robot was able to navigate; by the tenth version, it could interact with humans.
Q: From the first prototype to the final design, what did you learn during this process?
A: The first thing we learned was that creating a robot is a software problem. Second, we realized that over time, robots will become smarter, which resembles Moore's Law. In addition, we learned that robots can create large amounts of data. So we understand what data should be kept, what data is deleted, where data is stored, how data is transmitted, and how to reduce network traffic.
Q: What do you think about the future of warehouse robots?
A: I think this will be a gradual process. Some companies already have some technology. They have already produced robots that can pick up boxes and bottles with suction cups and clips. However, the shape, size, weight, density, etc. of the products are all different. It is also very challenging for robots to operate them.
For robots to be applied to warehouses, four requirements need to be met: strong, reliable, fast, and inexpensive. And now, it does not satisfy these four items. Even if it is powerful, reliable, and fast, its cost is still higher than that of hired workers. When can we solve the robot cost problem? Regarding this issue, all parties have their opinions. Some people think that for one or two years, some people think that for three or five years, and I think it takes five to seven years or even longer. In my professional career, I have been in the warehouse, so I know that the warehouse is an extremely complex place, and the requirements for robots are also very high. Therefore, to popularize warehouse robots, we are still obstinate and long.
Via:IEEE
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