More than a decade ago I worked in a warehouse with far superior automation than moving pods. Pieces could be picked off 50 foot high shelves and moved to the proper packing stations and loading dock on conveyors. Moving entire shelving units around seems a horrible waste of energy, not to mention floor space (limits on shelving height plus allowance for movement).
Using robots for this task is more a question of fixed cost than anything else. Rather than build a conveyor belt to each cubbyhole in the warehouse - some of which may not be used for weeks on end - it's much cheaper to have a few robots that go to each spot as needed. And it's also more flexible, since it's easy to add or remove robots as needed.
In computing terms, conveyor belts everywhere cost O(warehouse space) to build, whereas mobile robots cost O(activity volume). Profits are also, most likely, O(activity volume).
ahi|14 years ago
zeteo|14 years ago
In computing terms, conveyor belts everywhere cost O(warehouse space) to build, whereas mobile robots cost O(activity volume). Profits are also, most likely, O(activity volume).
asdfdsa1234|14 years ago
ahi|14 years ago
unknown|14 years ago
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