How a “seeing” robot brings efficiency to storage solutions
In the supply chain, warehouses act as a home base for logistics operations. And if your home base is disorganized, it’s hard to move further down the supply chain! That’s why warehouse technology companies like Spacemaker Systems, Inc. exist.
What does it mean to be a warehouse technologies provider? Spacemaker aims to simplify the operations of your warehouse with automation. If that means you need better visibility of your products and where they are (traceability) or you need to make better use of your storage space (storage optimization), Spacemaker has the technologies to make that happen.
What is high-density storage?
Under the umbrella of storage optimization, Spacemaker specializes in high-density storage. Simply put, high-density storage is the practice of optimizing storage space by condensing items into a smaller area. To execute this, they’ve created a product called the Pallet Mole™, which is particularly useful in a type of high-density storage called deep lane pallet storage.
Automated pallet storage
Pallets are commonly used in warehouses to both store and transport items, as they can typically hold a large quantity of goods. While human workers have moved pallets in the past, they still face certain obstacles in this type of work, like the ability to move a heavy pallet, the physical strain of labor that isn’t ergonomically optimized, and the time it takes away from larger projects.
But if you could automate this process…hoorah! The above obstacles would vanish. Speaking of…
What is the Pallet Mole™?
Spacemaker’s Pallet Mole™ is the magical automated pallet we speak of.
While it is not technically a pallet, it is designed to move pallets with the utmost precision and accuracy to make sure they get to their designated spots in the warehouse. The Pallet Mole™ is capable of both storing and retrieving items, thanks to the help of advanced sensors.
SICK sensors: The eyes and ears of the Pallet Mole™
Ross Astrup, Spacemaker CEO, even explained: “The pallet mole uses SICK sensors to see the world.”
With a variety of our sensors (12 in total, to be exact), like the H18 and WTT12, the automated robot is able to navigate the deep lane pallet system in a more reliable manner. The H18 and WTT12 are both photoelectric sensors, offering reliable object detection with advanced time-of-flight technology.
“You can't take a chunk of metal and make it see the world any other way. Sensors are its eyes and ears,” Mertin Coetzee, Head of Automation at Spacemaker, said.
Coetzee also explained how the Pallet Mole™ has evolved over the years with the addition of smart sensors. A few years ago, the pallet moles could only detect if there was something in front of it. The newest generation can now differentiate among several objects; it can determine if a pallet, fork truck or human is in its vicinity. This not only makes the machine more efficient, but also adds a massive safety factor, according to Coetzee.
“Every day here in in the automation department, we look to see how can we take the Pallet Mole™ product to the next evolution, the next variant, to keep ahead of the competition. And that is where partnering with SICK has made a big difference,” Coetzee said.
Want to learn more about SICK’s offerings in warehouse automation? Contact us today!
