Picking Robots are Changing the Game — Example Bin-picking-Robot in the E-grocery Industrie

Imagine a world where fulfilling your grocery order is as easy as pressing a button. This is exactly what the e-grocery industry is striving for, by harnessing the power of cutting-edge technology — bin-picking robots.

These robots are revolutionising the process of picking items for online orders, making it faster, more efficient, and more accurate than ever before. As the e-grocery industry is growing, companies are looking to find ways to keep up with the demand and the rise of online orders.

This is why, bin-picking robots are becoming the backbone of this industry, automating one of the most labor-intensive and time-consuming tasks in a fulfilment center.

Using computer vision technology, these robots can identify and locate items within a bin or other container, and then use their robotic arm to pick up and place the items into target container.

How it works

A bin filled with an array of products rides along a conveyor belt, smoothly traversing past a robotic apparatus. The robot uses its cameras to scan the contents of the bin and create a 3D model of the items within it. This model is then analysed to accurately determine the precise location and orientation of each item, enabling the robot to determine the optimal method for grabbing it.

Once the location and orientation of each item has been determined, the robot employs its robotic arm to pick up and place the items into a container destination.

The robot can be programmed to selectively pick up individual items or to efficiently grasp multiple items at once through the use of specialized tools.

Key components of a bin-picking robot

A robotic arm is the main component of the robot, which is used to pick up and place items. The robotic arm can have multiple joints and degrees of freedom, allowing it to move in a variety of directions and orientations. In the end of the arm is the so called “end effector”, this is the device attached to the end of the robotic arm and it is used to grip and manipulate items in the target container. The end piece can include different grippers like vacuum grippers, pneumatic grippers, suction cups, or other specialised tools.

In addition a the robot typically uses one or more cameras and sensors to create a 3D model of the items within a bin, and to locate and track the position of each item.

The robot may have a protective shield or cage around it to protect the robot and human workers from any hazards or accidents that may occur during the bin-picking process

Pros:

1. Increased efficiency: Bin-picking robots can work faster and more accurately than human workers, which can increase the overall efficiency of the picking.
2. Reduced errors: Bin-picking robots can reduce the number of errors during the picking and packaging process, leading to fewer returns and customer complaints.
3. Scalability: Robots can work 24/7, which allows e-grocery businesses to scale up operations as demand increases.
4. Cost reduction: Robotics automation has been known to be cheaper in the long run. With the initial investment cost of buying and training the robots, they can work longer hours with minimal supervision, reducing the labor cost.

Cons:

1. High initial investment: Implementing bin-picking robots can be expensive, as the cost of the robots, as well as the cost of integrating them into existing systems, can be high.
2. Limited versatility: Bin-picking robots are designed to pick up specific types of items, such as packaged goods, and may need help to handle other types of items, such as fresh produce.
3. Dependence on technology: Bin-picking robots rely on computer vision and other technologies to function, so if there are issues with these technologies, the robot may need to be fixed.
4. Job displacement: These robots’ use can lead to human workers’ removal, especially in the e-grocery industry. This displacement can lead to a financial burden on affected workers and their families and social and economic consequences.

Using item-picking robots in e-grocery can significantly increase the efficiency and accuracy of the picking process, which is crucial for the industry. As e-grocery sales are growing fast, and to meet that demand, the warehouses have to be able to process a large number of items in a short amount of time; robots can help with that. With the robots working 24/7, they can also increase the scalability of the e-grocery businesses. It also reduces cost, as using robots means less labor cost.

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