Berkshire Grey, a robotics and AI company that develops retail, ecommerce, and logistics fulfillment automation for global companies, today announced the general availability of Robotic Induction Station (RIS) solutions. RIS systems automate a critical but mundane operational task to alleviate labor constraints, enhance social distancing within distribution operations, and maximize the utilization of existing sorters and fixed material handling assets. These sorters are often the crucial processing element for ecommerce and apparel fulfillment operations. RIS customers will typically see 25% – 50% increases in throughput capacity without incurring additional labor. RIS solutions are offered via both capital purchase and Robots as a Service (RaaS). RaaS makes the systems accessible to enterprises on a subscription basis without upfront capital costs.
The core of each Robotic Induction Station is fast, reliable robotic each picking from feeder totes or belts. Stations are compatible with a variety of transport, sortation, and packing solutions including auto-baggers, auto-boxers, and traditional tilt-tray, bomb bay, cross-belt, and pouch sorters. A range of RIS configurations are available. Stations outfitted with Berkshire Grey’s patented HyperScannerTM omni-directional optical identification technology handle pick and place from mixed-item totes and belt presentations. Base models support picking from simpler divided-SKU and single-SKU totes.
Berkshire Grey RIS solutions leverage the picking technology, built on advanced machine vision and machine learning, that is core to all the company’s robotic automation solutions. RIS systems have industry leading speed, accuracy, and merchandise compatibility making them suitable for handling apparel, health and beauty items, electronics, housewares, packaged food, childcare products, pet care items, and other general merchandise. The RIS solution set is part of Berkshire Grey’s portfolio of omni-channel fulfillment solutions which also include goods-to-robot stations, robotic ecommerce fulfillment, robotic store replenishment, and robotic parcel sortation systems.
“Customers are challenged to keep up with the demands placed on their supply chains by today’s omni-channel consumers, and ecommerce fulfillment is one of their primary pain points. Berkshire Grey has invented a portfolio of intelligent robotic solutions to deliver value by addressing the spectrum of operating processes within ecommerce fulfillment centers,” said Peter Van Alstine, Senior Vice President & GM for Retail at Berkshire Grey. “We’ve engineered our Robotic Induction Stations to integrate with a wide range of traditional sortation and packaging applications to bring new levels of efficiency and capacity utilization to existing operations.”
Berkshire Grey deploys intelligent robotic solutions to automate tasks never before performed by machines in commercial settings. Berkshire Grey’s portfolio of omni-channel solutions automatically pick, pack, and sort individual items, inner packs, cases, and parcels to automate warehouse, distribution, and micro-fulfillment operations. Through first-in-class technologies in artificial intelligence, computer vision, machine learning, advanced sensing, novel gripping, and robotics, Berkshire Grey solutions handle the broadest assortment of products, packaging, and parcels – and all while continuously improving speed and performance through autonomous learning. Berkshire Grey’s customers typically optimize picking labor costs in break pack and ecommerce operations by up to 70% and improve throughput by 25% to 50%.
Berkshire Grey’s RIS solutions had been slated to debut at MODEX 2020, but the company canceled its participation in the tradeshow due to health and safety concerns related to COVID-19. Please contact Berkshire Grey to arrange 1-on-1 discussions and see how RIS can improve your sortation efficiency and throughput.
