supply chain

Amazon has announced it will acquire Belgian firm Cloostermans, which builds robots for warehouses. Purpose of this acquisition is to build ‘next-generation supply chain mechatronics’. Cloostermans is already a supplier for the Amazon-warehouses. Recently Amazon announced another expansion in the robotics-space, by acquiring iRobot.

Hai Robotics, provider of Autonomous Case-handling Robot (ACR) systems for warehouse logistics, will exhibit its automation technology at LogiMAT 2022, Europe’s biggest annual intralogistics tradeshow, from May 31 to June 2 in Stuttgart, Germany.

Konoike Transport Co and OSARO worked on a new project at the Konoike Institute of Technology Innovation Center (known as KITIC). It will showcase Japan’s first prototype of automated warehouse operations where autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) will work together with picking robots optimized for warehouse and e-commerce applications that involve large SKU inventories.

Walmart Canada is investing more than $118 million to build a new high-tech sortable fulfillment centre. For the first time Walmart Canada will use robotic technology from GreyOrange. This platform will speed up order fulfillment by using an advanced operating system that will help associates store, pick and sort items by using smart and flexible storage abilities to manage a large and wide variety of inventory.

Silent Arrow announced that the company’s GD-2000 UAS platform was selected for a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Warfighter Lab Incentive Fund (WLIF) contract with a 12-month period of performance beginning in Q1 2022.

Compass Technology Group (CTG) has won the Defense Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award (DMTAA) at the recent Defense Manufacturing Conference (DMC). Atlanta-based CTG, an Aerobotix partner and provider of radio frequency (RF) materials measurement equipment, engaged Aerobotix in building its award-winning project – an adaptive radome diagnostic system, which is also the first use of a collaborative mobile robot in Air Force maintenance depots.

U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center-Korea teams are using robots to increase efficiency and reduce staff burden in their distribution warehouse. Launched as a pilot program in December 2021, USAMMC-K installed a robotic carrier system the goal of reducing manpower requirements to deliver processed medical supplies from the warehouse’s receiving section to storage and shipping sections as workers fulfill customer requests.

Osaro, vendor of robotics automation, and Innotech, provider of products for electronics and consumer industries, have announced a collaboration to create an innovative demonstration for Rohto Pharmaceutical Co. using AI piece-picking robots. The two companies are jointly providing picking robots and jointly building a system for their introduction into a new factory production line, scheduled for completion in 2022.

Recently Danish research company HowToRobot published its analysis of the Dutch robotics market. This comprehensive report emphasizes the supply chain and logistics sector as the economic center of gravity for the Dutch economy, as most of all robot suppliers active in this market target this vertical. Rocking Robots discussed the findings of the report with CEO Søren Peters.

Universal Logic, developer of the Neocortex AI robot control software, announced a deal for their fully integrated Neocortex Pallet Sorter in several distribution centers of Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG).