On Tuesday, Brightpick, a provider of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), unveiled an ambitious addition to its existing lineup. The aptly named Giraffe system stands out with its large, retractable platform that can reach heights of up to 20 feet (6 meters) for picking items from high shelves in warehouses. This innovative solution targets warehouses with ceilings beyond the reach of both standard AMRs and their human counterparts.
The Giraffe achieves this impressive reach through a telescoping arm composed of three overlapping segments, which measures 8.5 feet when fully retracted. Instead of the conventional method of extending and retracting by 11.5 feet at once, the system is designed to collaborate with the company’s existing Autopicker robot. This AMR, equipped with two supply bins, extends up to 11 feet to meet the larger robot halfway.
This system is somewhat similar to the telescoping warehouse mechanisms developed by the London-based company Dexory; however, Dexory’s “DexoryView” platform is primarily focused on shelf scanning via sensors. The Giraffe, on the other hand, has the more challenging task of physically transferring items from the shelves.
In the realm of tall-shelf warehouse inventory, Dexory faces competition from drone-based startups like Gather AI, Verity, and Corvus. However, lifting and transporting loads is too resource-heavy for quadcopters, making it unlikely that they will encroach on Giraffe’s market space in the near future.
A more fitting comparison might be drawn with automated storage and retrieval systems from companies like AutoStore and Kardex. These grid-based solutions tend to be costly to install, challenging to maintain, and less versatile concerning inventory sizes. In contrast, Brightpick’s order-picking solution incorporates AMRs that navigate traditional warehouse shelving to retrieve inventory.
BionicHive offers yet another alternative with its Squid systems, which operate on shelf-mounted tracks for inventory retrieval. The Israeli robotics startup attracted Amazon’s investment in 2022 through its Industrial Innovation Fund.
As the warehouse and logistics sector increasingly automates, there is ample potential for various designs and solutions to thrive.
Brightpick anticipates launching Giraffe for two significant clients in 2025. E-commerce company The Feed plans to deploy six Giraffes alongside 73 Autopickers at their Colorado facility, while medical supply firm McGuff Company will implement four Giraffes and a dozen Autopickers at a California warehouse.
Brightpick asserts that the combination of Giraffe and Autopicker can achieve three times the warehouse density of traditional human-based operations, effectively doubling the efficiency of its existing solution.
Compiled by Techarena.au.
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