Tune In Friday for "In Conversation: Clayton Wood"
Tune In Friday for "In Conversation: Clayton Wood"
Former Picnic CEO shares insights, answers audience questions
Join us Friday 5/5 at 11 AM Pacific / 2 PM Eastern for “In Conversation: Clayton Wood.”
Clayton Wood is one of the most well respected voices in the automation industry, having scaled industry stalwart Picnic. Now that he's stepped away from the robotic pizza brand, Clayton will be sharing his thoughts on what comes next for the industry, how to overcome a choppy fundraising environment, what inventions he's most excited about, and more. Tune in, and bring your own questions for this engineer turned MBA; we'll conclude the conversation with an audience Q&A.
Now, the day’s news roundup…
ABB Releases AI-Powered Picker Arm
ABB Robotics debuts the Robotic Item Picker, an AI and vision-based system designed to accurately detect and pick items in unstructured warehouse environments. The system uses machine vision and AI to determine optimal grasp points before employing a suction gripper to pick and place items into designated bins. The Item Picker can handle up to 1,400 items per hour without requiring human supervision or information about the items' physical attributes. Compatible with three ABB robots, the Item Picker can be integrated into existing automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), such as shuttle, cubic, and 3D storage solutions. The new technology aims to make order fulfillment and distribution more efficient in response to the growth of e-commerce and global labor shortages.
BreadBot Builder Raising Series A
The Wilkinson Baking Company is preparing to raise a Series A financing round to fund further growth; company's CEO Paul Rhynhard is optimistic that their current traction in the market will attract new backers. Since debuting at CES 2019, the company has built 20 BreadBots, with seven currently operating in grocery stores across the country under a lease plus fee model. The machines can make 200 loaves per day, with fresh bread ready about an hour and a half after the process has started. To date, the company has raised $3 million.
Amazon Robin Handles 1 Billion Packages
During its Q1 2023 financial results telecast, Amazon reported that its Robin robot has handled one billion packages in warehouses across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Using AI, computer vision, and machine learning, Robin helps employees sort and handle customer packages, reducing repetitive tasks and improving safety. The robot picks packages from a conveyor belt, scans them, and places them on a drive robot heading to the correct loading dock. Robin can also recognize and attempt to correct its own mistakes, or call for human assistance if necessary.