Picker Robots

A wheeled black mobile base supports a red railed crane that is expanded upwards. At the top, a red base holds a brown package. — Picker Robots are compact but they reach high shelves. Photo: inVia Robotics

Picker Robots are mobile machines designed to autonomously retrieve and carry products in a warehouse. The robots are directed through AI-powered software that identifies the most efficient paths for them to pick, replenish, return, and count goods.

Creator

inVia Robotics

Year

2015

Country

United States 🇺🇸

Categories

Industrial

Features

Time to get moving. Video: inVia Robotics

Did you know?

inVia is Italian for "send."

Multiple Picker Robots glow as they carry boxes through a warehouse space. — Team work! Photo: inVia Robotics

History

InVia Robotics was founded by Lior Elazary, Dan Parks, and Randolph Voorhies, who met while working on their PhD degrees in robotics at the University of Southern California. Their plan was to apply automation to solve existing problems, and they had one of their key ideas when ordering sheets of aluminum and other parts to build one of their early prototype robots. They realized that as more and more consumers placed orders online while also expecting faster delivery times, e-commerce companies would need to significantly improve their fulfillment operations. InVia set out to develop fleets of robots to automate warehouses, focusing particularly on repetitive tasks so workers would be able to do more meaningful activities. The founders say that since the beginning, their goal was to create innovation via robotics, which is how they came up with the name inVia Robotics.

Overhead view of a warehouse with many rows of shelves with packages is seen with squat Picker Robots carrying boxes through the aisles. — AI algorithms help the robots travel quickly and efficiently. Photo: inVia Robotics

Specs

Overview: Each robot can transport a tote of up to 18 kg (40 lbs). Robots equipped with lights to illuminate pathways and fiducials in dark corners of the warehouse, enabling "lights out" 24/7 operation. Retrieval system includes suction cups that create a tight seal on totes to transport them to and from picking stations. inVia robotics experts remotely monitor and optimize the robot workflow from the Robotics Operations Center (ROC).
Status: Ongoing
Year: 2015
Website: inviarobotics.com
Width: 62.2 cm
Height: 65 cm (scissor lift can extend up to 244 cm)
Length: 66.4 cm
Weight: 62 kg
Speed: 8 km/h
Sensors: Industrial-grade global shutter cameras
Actuators: Brushless hub motors for wheels. Brushless DC actuator for the lift. Stepper motor for the platform.
Degrees of Freedom (DoF): 4
Materials: Aluminum sheet metal
Compute: Custom electronics boards
Software: Proprietary inVia Robot Management System (RMS)
Power: Hot-swappable batteries, 10 hours of operation