Vecna Robotics is teaming with UniCarriers Americas (UCA) to create a line of autonomous material handling vehicles for warehouses, distribution centers, and manufacturing environments, the companies said Tuesday.
Waltham, Massachusetts-based Vecna will integrate its autonomous navigation technology, learning algorithms, and workflow orchestration software into UCA's vehicles, turning them into autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).
That upgrade will empower vehicles from Marengo, Illinois-based UCA to improve material handling productivity by moving beyond fixed workflows and routes, and move bulk material through dynamic warehouse environments, the partners said. The new line will also feature autonomous tuggers and lift trucks capable of vertical and horizontal movements with material up to 10,000 pounds.
The fleet will also feature Vecna's Robotic pivot.al orchestration system, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based fleet manager that distributes work amongst humans, robots, and standard automation based on capabilities, location, and operational priorities, Vecna said.
"Customer's expectations are changing too fast. Companies that restrict themselves to a specific workflow, robot, or AGV are not optimizing productivity efficiently," UCA's Brian Markison, senior director of national accounts and AGV Sales, said in a release. "This strategic partnership helps Vecna Robotics and UCA reach a very important shared objective - providing customers flexible and cost-efficient material handling solutions that reliably gets goods out the door no matter how demand or markets change."
Agility Robotics, the small Oregon company that makes walking robots for warehouse applications, has taken on new funding from the powerhouse German automotive and industrial parts supplier Schaeffler AG, the firm said today.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Schaeffler has made “a minority investment” in Agility and signed an agreement to purchase its humanoid robots for use across the global Schaeffler plant network.
That newly combined entity will generate annual revenue of around $26 billion, employ a workforce of some 120,000, and serve its customers from more than 44 research & development (R&D centers and more than 100 production sites around the world. The new setup will include four business divisions: E-Mobility, Powertrain & Chassis, Vehicle Lifetime Solutions and Bearings & Industrial Solutions.
“In disruptive times, implementing innovative manufacturing solutions is crucial to be successful. Here, humanoids play an important role,” Andreas Schick, Chief Operating Officer of Schaeffler AG, said in a release. “We, at Schaeffler, will integrate this technology into our operations and see the potential to deploy a significant number of humanoids in our global network of 100 plants by 2030. We look forward to the collaboration with Agility Robotics which will accelerate our activities in this field.”
Agility makes the “Digit” product, which it calls a bipedal Mobile Manipulation Robot (MMR). Earlier this year, Agility also began deploying its humanoid robots through a multi-year agreement with contract logistics provider GXO.
The Boston-based enterprise software vendor Board has acquired the California company Prevedere, a provider of predictive planning technology, saying the move will integrate internal performance metrics with external economic intelligence.
According to Board, the combined technologies will integrate millions of external data points—ranging from macroeconomic indicators to AI-driven predictive models—to help companies build predictive models for critical planning needs, cutting costs by reducing inventory excess and optimizing logistics in response to global trade dynamics.
That is particularly valuable in today’s rapidly changing markets, where companies face evolving customer preferences and economic shifts, the company said. “Our customers spend significant time analyzing internal data but often lack visibility into how external factors might impact their planning,” Jeff Casale, CEO of Board, said in a release. “By integrating Prevedere, we eliminate those blind spots, equipping executives with a complete view of their operating environment. This empowers them to respond dynamically to market changes and make informed decisions that drive competitive advantage.”
Material handling automation provider Vecna Robotics today named Karl Iagnemma as its new CEO and announced $14.5 million in additional funding from existing investors, the Waltham, Massachusetts firm said.
The fresh funding is earmarked to accelerate technology and product enhancements to address the automation needs of operators in automotive, general manufacturing, and high-volume warehousing.
Iagnemma comes to the company after roles as an MIT researcher and inventor, and with leadership titles including co-founder and CEO of autonomous vehicle technology company nuTonomy. The tier 1 supplier Aptiv acquired Aptiv in 2017 for $450 million, and named Iagnemma as founding CEO of Motional, its $4 billion robotaxi joint venture with automaker Hyundai Motor Group.
“Automation in logistics today is similar to the current state of robotaxis, in that there is a massive market opportunity but little market penetration,” Iagnemma said in a release. “I join Vecna Robotics at an inflection point in the material handling market, where operators are poised to adopt automation at scale. Vecna is uniquely positioned to shape the market with state-of-the-art technology and products that are easy to purchase, deploy, and operate reliably across many different workflows.”
Third-party logistics (3PL) providers’ share of large real estate leases across the U.S. rose significantly through the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same time last year, as more retailers and wholesalers have been outsourcing their warehouse and distribution operations to 3PLs, according to a report from real estate firm CBRE.
Specifically, 3PLs’ share of bulk industrial leasing activity—covering leases of 100,000 square feet or more—rose to 34.1% through Q3 of this year from 30.6% through Q3 last year. By raw numbers, 3PLs have accounted for 498 bulk leases so far this year, up by 9% from the 457 at this time last year.
By category, 3PLs’ share of 34.1% ranked above other occupier types such as: general retail and wholesale (26.6), food and beverage (9.0), automobiles, tires, and parts (7.9), manufacturing (6.2), building materials and construction (5.6), e-commerce only (5.6), medical (2.7), and undisclosed (2.3).
On a quarterly basis, bulk leasing by 3PLs has steadily increased this year, reversing the steadily decreasing trend of 2023. CBRE pointed to three main reasons for that resurgence:
Import Flexibility. Labor disruptions, extreme weather patterns, and geopolitical uncertainty have led many companies to diversify their import locations. Using 3PLs allows for more inventory flexibility, a key component to retailer success in times of uncertainty.
Capital Allocation/Preservation. Warehousing and distribution of goods is expensive, draining capital resources for transportation costs, rent, or labor. But outsourcing to 3PLs provides companies with more flexibility to increase or decrease their inventories without any risk of signing their own lease commitments. And using a 3PL also allows companies to switch supply chain costs from capital to operational expenses.
Focus on Core Competency. Outsourcing their logistics operations to 3PLs allows companies to focus on core business competencies that drive revenue, such as product development, sales, and customer service.
Looking into the future, these same trends will continue to drive 3PL warehouse demand, CBRE said. Economic, geopolitical and supply chain uncertainty will remain prevalent in the coming quarters but will not diminish the need to effectively manage inventory levels.
In a push to automate manufacturing processes, businesses around the world have turned to robots—the latest figures from the Germany-based International Federation of Robotics (IFR) indicate that there are now 4,281,585 robot units operating in factories worldwide, a 10% jump over the previous year. And the pace of robotic adoption isn’t slowing: Annual installations in 2023 exceeded half a million units for the third consecutive year, the IFR said in its “World Robotics 2024 Report.”
As for where those robotic adoptions took place, the IFR says 70% of all newly deployed robots in 2023 were installed in Asia (with China alone accounting for over half of all global installations), 17% in Europe, and 10% in the Americas. Here’s a look at the numbers for several countries profiled in the report (along with the percentage change from 2022).