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How Amazon Triggered a Robot Arms Race

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Re: How Amazon Triggered a Robot Arms Race

#71

Post by endersshadow »

sgwealti wrote: post #68

This article really overhypes the Kiva robots. I work in the warehouse automation industry for a fortune-500 retailer with several large e-commerce brands. Robotic goods-to-person is only one of many applications of robotics and automation in warehouses. It is also really only useful for certain types of long-tail operations - many SKUs, low volume per SKU. It also still very labor intensive because someone still has…

One of the nice things about the Kiva robots is that they will actually organize the warehouse based on popularity of the SKUs automagically. Things that are low volume get placed farther away from the pickers, and things that are high volume are never far away from the pickers.

Re: How Amazon Triggered a Robot Arms Race

#72

Post by sgwealti »

endersshadow wrote: post #71
sgwealti wrote: post #68

This article really overhypes the Kiva robots. I work in the warehouse automation industry for a fortune-500 retailer with several large e-commerce brands. Robotic goods-to-person is only one of many applications of robotics and automation in warehouses. It is also really only useful for certain types of long-tail operations - many SKUs, low volume per SKU. It also still very labor intensive because someone still has…

One of the nice things about the Kiva robots is that they will actually organize the warehouse based on popularity of the SKUs automagically. Things that are low volume get placed farther away from the pickers, and things that are high volume are never far away from the pickers.

I agree that is an advantage of the goods-to-person robots but shuttle systems do the same thing and are a better use of vertical space.

Re: How Amazon Triggered a Robot Arms Race

#73

Post by endersshadow »

sgwealti wrote: post #72
endersshadow wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the nice things about the Kiva robots is that they will actually organize the warehouse based on popularity of the SKUs automagically. Things that are low volume get placed farther away from the pickers, and things that are high volume are never far away from the pickers.

I agree that is an advantage of the goods-to-person robots but shuttle systems do the same thing and are a better use of vertical space.

What's an example of them? I'm interested to learn.

Re: How Amazon Triggered a Robot Arms Race

#74

Post by jonknee »

huherto wrote: post #56
codeonfire wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They can't be used for large item warehouses and are probably not worth it for smaller warehouses. Also existing warehouses that are multilevel with plywood flooring probably can't be retrofitted easily. Since their focus seems to be on same day, one hour delivery from small urban warehouses, the majority of their new warehouses are probably not going to use kiva.

Why are they not worht for smaller warehouses ? The cost of kiva robots for amazone are per unit. Thus proportional to the size of the warehouse.

A robot that goes and fetches items and brings them to you is more valuable in larger spaces than smaller ones.

Re: How Amazon Triggered a Robot Arms Race

#75

Post by sgwealti »

endersshadow wrote: post #73
sgwealti wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that is an advantage of the goods-to-person robots but shuttle systems do the same thing and are a better use of vertical space.

What's an example of them? I'm interested to learn.

There are 5 or 6 vendors that have offerings in that space. Some of them are: Opex Perfect Pick, Dematic Mulishuttle 2, Intelligrated OLS Shuttle, Witron's OFS, SSI Schafer's Navette. These solutions are definitely more capital intensive than Kiva robots but they are faster and have a much smaller footprint.

If you have a Kiva-type goods to person robot system and your order profile changes like more lines per order or more order lines of a particular SKU, the system can run into scaling issues. There are only so many robots and so much floor space to navigate in. Shuttles to some extent have the same problem but because of their smaller footprint you run out of horizontal space slower than you do with Kiva robots.

Re: How Amazon Triggered a Robot Arms Race

#76

Post by sgwealti »

endersshadow wrote: post #71
sgwealti wrote: post #68

This article really overhypes the Kiva robots. I work in the warehouse automation industry for a fortune-500 retailer with several large e-commerce brands. Robotic goods-to-person is only one of many applications of robotics and automation in warehouses. It is also really only useful for certain types of long-tail operations - many SKUs, low volume per SKU. It also still very labor intensive because someone still has…

One of the nice things about the Kiva robots is that they will actually organize the warehouse based on popularity of the SKUs automagically. Things that are low volume get placed farther away from the pickers, and things that are high volume are never far away from the pickers.

Another advantage of the Kiva system is that they are not picky about the types of items that can be stored. They can store and move just about anything that fits on a shelf. Shuttle systems have some restrictions about the types of items that can be stored. Amazon has such a wide range of items that the flexibility of their shelving units allows them to get the most advantage out of their goods-to-person robots.

Re: How Amazon Triggered a Robot Arms Race

#77

Post by icebraining »

lmm wrote: post #30
timv wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a soul-crushing job is better than no job Really? Do you mean: "Being paid to do soul-crushing work is better than not being paid" ? Or: "Doing soul-crushing work is better than having nothing to do" ? The first is an issue of income and the distribution of product (in the GDP sense of product). There is no axiomatic rule that says "you have to have a job to get paid", it's just how our current economy operates. If…

> Or: "Doing soul-crushing work is better than having nothing to do" ? Are we sure this isn't true? Are people who don't have to work (e.g. those on permanent disability in the US) more or less happy than comparable people in dead-end soulless jobs?

While it may be informative, one of the differences between UBI and simply expanding current welfare programs is cultural. Right now, being out of a job is considered shameful, and it's often isolating (since "everyone" else is working while you're not). Even in my holiday-friendlier (compared to the US) EU country, the fact that an unemployed person takes a few days from searching for work to go to the beach is met with scorn.

One of the hopes of UBI is that when everyone receives a salary just from being alive, and working earns you extra on top of that, whether one works become more of a choice (like living frugally) instead of a failure, and loneliness is reduced when unemployment isn't an evil to combat, and more people choose to do something else.

Re: How Amazon Triggered a Robot Arms Race

#78

Post by lmm »

icebraining wrote: post #77
lmm wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Or: "Doing soul-crushing work is better than having nothing to do" ? Are we sure this isn't true? Are people who don't have to work (e.g. those on permanent disability in the US) more or less happy than comparable people in dead-end soulless jobs?

While it may be informative, one of the differences between UBI and simply expanding current welfare programs is cultural. Right now, being out of a job is considered shameful, and it's often isolating (since "everyone" else is working while you're not). Even in my holiday-friendlier (compared to the US) EU country, the fact that an unemployed person takes a few days from searching for work to go to the beach is met…

I hope that too. But I don't think it's very likely. I guess we'll find out via the coming experiments.

Re: How Amazon Triggered a Robot Arms Race

#79

Post by are595 »

iandanforth wrote: post #14
ChuckMcM wrote: post #8

I was reminded of how Dell originally pioneered extreme operational efficiency as the tool which made them hard to beat. I also particularly like the warehouse robotics application, it is a good mix of being able to make some adaptations in the environment to mitigate some of the more serious robotics challenges and yet able to effectively evaluate the net value to the business with and without. Just wish I'd started…

Not too late to join one! We (Fetch Robotics) are hiring for many roles!

As a Computer Engineering student, what sort of courses do you recommend I take in order to work on robotics? My only experience with the field so far has been high school robotics competitions really.

Re: How Amazon Triggered a Robot Arms Race

#80

Post by tgb »

kristofferR wrote: post #24

Komplett.no, which aims to become the Amazon of Norway (the real Amazon doesn't care about Norway), has a really cool automated warehouse (AutoStore) which seems even more advanced than Amazons: http://autostoresystem.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O0UKARdLDc (360° video) http://www.tu.no/artikler/unik-video-bli-med-inn-i-kompletts... The packages still need to be packaged by hand though, but it seems like it…

This may be the most futuristic thing I've seen. Thanks for the link.
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