Collaborative robots are becoming increasingly important for the logistics industry and have the potential to transform supply chains through implementation in various logistics areas such as picking, packing and transportation of goods, according to the new Trend Report by Deutsche Post DHL.
The report “Robotics in Logistics” highlights the dynamic development of the “next generation” robots that can see, move, react to their environment and work at precision tasks alongside people. This rapid development is boosted by the unstoppable growth of labour-intensive e-commerce as well as a smaller and ageing workforce, DHL explained.
As a result, governments, venture capitalists and large retailers in several countries are massively investing in new research projects with some of them focusing on the development of robots for the logistics industry, the report stressed. In addition to the USA, China, Russia and Japan, Europe has also joined the “robotics” competition. As part of the European Commission’s SPARC programme, the EU will invest €700 million into research on robotics while a consortium of 180 European companies has pledged an additional €2.1 billion by the year 2020.
Matthias Heutger, Senior Vice President Strategy, Marketing & Innovation, DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation, said: “Robots work in many industries but haven’t made an impact on logistics yet because of the complexity of the work. Handling an infinite number of product and process combinations in cooperation with people and in confined spaces is a challenge for robots. Current research shows that 80% of the processes at all logistics facilities are still run manually. However, technology has just started to catch up due to increasing demand for flexible and low-cost collaborative robots.”
DP DHL Group has already started testing the robot technology in future proof logistics applications. At selected warehouse sites, the group is now trialling new supply chain solutions with the deployment of collaborative robots. The results of the tests will be presented at the company’s first Robotics Day on 7 April, 2016, at the DHL Innovation Centre in Troisdorf near Bonn, Germany. The event that brings together the leading minds in the field of robotics technology will focus on how humans and advanced robots could work side by side featuring tangible state-of-the art exhibitions of leading robotics companies.
“The outlook for robotics is very exciting and the world of logistics will benefit from the coming developments in robotic technology,” DP DHL predicted.
Clemens Beckmann, Executive Vice President Innovation, Post – eCommerce – Parcel, Deutsche Post DHL Group, said: “Just like our children can’t picture a world without computers, it is likely that their children will feel the same way about robots. Developing the next generation of robots that can work around and among people will take a substantial investment to advance the technology but at DPDHL Group we believe that soon supply chains will see humans and robots working side by side to handle goods faster and more economically.”
The Trend Report “Robotics in Logistics” includes insights and updates from leading experts in the field of advanced robotics and is part of the Logistics Trend Radar, which DHL uses to identify and leverage trends and technologies relevant for the logistics industry. The report is available online at www.dhl.com/robots.
