Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

newsworthy

Fetch Robotics adds larger warehouse models

Autonomous material handling bots can carry maximum loads of 1,100 or 3,300 pounds.

Fetch Robotics adds larger warehouse models

Mobile robot vendor Fetch Robotics Inc. has added two new models to its fleet of autonomous material handling vehicles for commercial and industrial environments, adding to the fast-growing market of warehouse robotics.

San Jose, Calif.-based Fetch unveiled the Freight500 and Freight1500 models of its Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) design, designed to automate the delivery of bulky and heavy loads, the company said Thursday.


Named for their payloads in kilograms, the new models can carry 1,100 pounds and 3,300 pounds respectively, and join their smaller cousin, the original Freight, which can carry 220 pounds. All three models are just 14 inches tall, but their dimensions vary from about two feet by two feet for the original Freight to three feet by four feet for the Freight500 to four feet by four feet—full-pallet sized—for the Freight1500.

"The new models round out the capabilities for our customers, who have been working with a lot of different package size needs, from pieces to cases to pallets," Fetch Robotics CEO Melonee Wise said in an interview. "People wanted to move bigger loads, but the amount of room in packing and warehouse areas is not that large, so we did our best to give a medium-size robot a lot of muscle."

Seen in a video, the Fetch AMR lineup is similar in shape and function to self-driving material handling vehicles such as Amazon Robotics' Kiva robots and Clearpath Robotics Inc.'s Otto Motors designs, with a few clear distinctions.

In contrast to Kiva's strategy of moving entire racks of goods in a gated area of the warehouse, Fetch robots carry totes, bins, or pallets alongside human workers, moving at a top speed of about 4.5 miles per hour, Wise said. And althoughOtto robots have comparable capacities to the 100- and 1,500-kilogram versions, Fetch adds a mid-range 500-kilogram model. In addition, Fetch equips its robots to perform data collection as well as material transport by outfitting them with custom payloads such as cameras, radio frequency identification (RFID) sensors, or robotic arms as well as standard bulk loads, she said.

Managers can modify Fetch robots' routes to adjust to changing warehouse environments by using the company's cloud-based management software, Fetchcore. The application allows users to create and schedule workflows by adding stations, preferred routes, speed maps, and keep-out zones. The software also helps track battery life, which can range between 9 and 16 hours, depending on their use patterns during the work shift.

The Latest

More Stories

AI sensors on manufacturing machine

AI firm Augury banks $75 million in fresh VC

The New York-based industrial artificial intelligence (AI) provider Augury has raised $75 million for its process optimization tools for manufacturers, in a deal that values the company at more than $1 billion, the firm said today.

According to Augury, its goal is deliver a new generation of AI solutions that provide the accuracy and reliability manufacturers need to make AI a trusted partner in every phase of the manufacturing process.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

AMR robots in a warehouse

Indian AMR firm Anscer expands to U.S. with new VC funding

The Indian warehouse robotics provider Anscer has landed new funding and is expanding into the U.S. with a new regional headquarters in Austin, Texas.

Bangalore-based Anscer had recently announced new financial backing from early-stage focused venture capital firm InfoEdge Ventures.

Keep ReadingShow less
Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year

Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year

Supply chains continue to deal with a growing volume of returns following the holiday peak season, and 2024 was no exception. Recent survey data from product information management technology company Akeneo showed that 65% of shoppers made holiday returns this year, with most reporting that their experience played a large role in their reason for doing so.

The survey—which included information from more than 1,000 U.S. consumers gathered in January—provides insight into the main reasons consumers return products, generational differences in return and online shopping behaviors, and the steadily growing influence that sustainability has on consumers.

Keep ReadingShow less

Automation delivers results for high-end designer

When you get the chance to automate your distribution center, take it.

That's exactly what leaders at interior design house Thibaut Design did when they relocated operations from two New Jersey distribution centers (DCs) into a single facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2019. Moving to an "empty shell of a building," as Thibaut's Michael Fechter describes it, was the perfect time to switch from a manual picking system to an automated one—in this case, one that would be driven by voice-directed technology.

Keep ReadingShow less

In search of the right WMS

IT projects can be daunting, especially when the project involves upgrading a warehouse management system (WMS) to support an expansive network of warehousing and logistics facilities. Global third-party logistics service provider (3PL) CJ Logistics experienced this first-hand recently, embarking on a WMS selection process that would both upgrade performance and enhance security for its U.S. business network.

The company was operating on three different platforms across more than 35 warehouse facilities and wanted to pare that down to help standardize operations, optimize costs, and make it easier to scale the business, according to CIO Sean Moore.

Keep ReadingShow less