AUTOMATED PICKING WITH AUGMENTED REALITY

Transcription

1 AUTOMATED PICKING WITH AUGMENTED REALITY

2 Industry 4.0 Harnessing the power of steam began the first Industrial Revolution, allowing work to be mechanized for the first time in human history. The advent of electricity in the assembly line delineates the start of the Second Industrial Revolution along with the invention of mass production. Computers and automation form the basis of the third revolution, when robots and mechanized assembly lines automated repetitive tasks. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, known as Industry 4.0, is transforming production, industry, transportation, logistics, and even mining, healthcare, and the management of cities throughout the world. The result is the digitalization of industry, which is commonly referred to as Smart Industry or Smart Manufacturing. This revolution is made possible by the expansion of the Internet and the proliferation of the Internet of Things, cloud computing, cognitive computing, big data, augmented and virtual reality, edge computing, robotics, artificial intelligence, and cyber-physical systems. Industry 4.0 goes beyond merely optimizing factories or warehouses and has a wider scope than robotics and automation. Instead, the concept, in full, looks at the value chain from beginning to end and includes energy, raw materials, manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, transportation and everything else needed in the product lifecycle. Augmented Reality (AR) is a significant component of this revolution in that it reduces the cost of operations and training, and helps optimize logistics, warehousing, manufacturing, and just about every other facet of industry. What exactly is augmented reality and how does that apply to warehousing? In AR, every object viewed through smart devices such as Smart Glasses are enriched with additional information. This includes text, videos, sound, locations, and other types of content. Smart Glasses can add text explaining what is inside of cases stored on shelves in a warehouse, or display arrows showing the path to walk or drive to retrieve products that need to be picked.

3 Market Overview of Augmented Reality According to the 2017 State of Logistics Report, published by A.T. Kearney, logistics 2017 STATE accounted OF LOGISTICS for 7.5% REPORT Source: A.T. Kearney of the US GDP in 2016 for a total of $1.392 trillion. This is down from 7.84% in 2015, but a lower value can be viewed as a positive because it underscores the supply chains strides towards greater efficiencies. (Solomon, 2018). The use of Smart Glasses for the workplace is growing, and Forrester identified 14 skills and 264 job roles where Smart Glasses can help workers do their jobs. Everything from technicians to logistics to the medical field will benefit because of the ability to help with installation, training, problem solving and warehousing. Forrester estimated about 8% of all US workers will use Smart Glasses at work by (Gownder, 2016). The augmented reality market exceeded $1 billion in 2016, and global industry shipments exceeded 100,000 units. Advances in technology and Smart Glasses, Head Mounted Displays (HMD) and the usage of wireless is driving the growth in this market. Self-contained devices provide information useful to users in a wide range of applications including manufacturing, healthcare, automotive, consumer, and other areas. (Global Market Insights, 2017). Brian Blau, an analyst from Gartner, testified about augmented reality to the Senate in November 2015, The market for AR is mainly business today. We estimate the number of AR HMDs sold in 2016 to be around several hundred thousand. We forecast that in 5 to 10 years hundreds of millions of HMD devices will be in the hands of users, split between see-through transparent display devices and those that provide full immersion, such as VR. (Blau, 2016). Logistics is one of the first markets to adopt and deploy augmented reality. Shipments of Smart Glasses used in logistics vertical was expected to generate $52.9 million revenue in 2017 and is projected to grow to $4.4 billion by Marina Lu, Senior Analyst at ABI Research, said, "AR Smart Glasses pick-by-vision capability frees workers' hands of traditional paper lists and picking instructions and enables them to work comfortably, safely, and efficiently in warehouses. AR streamlines the work process, and in turn offers compelling ROI to adopters through reduced errors and higher efficiency." (ABI Research for Visionaries, 2017).

4 Advantages of Augmented Reality in Warehouses Augmented reality has the potential to improve warehouse operations dramatically by simplifying the process of taking orders, reducing training requirements for new employees, and making it easier for drivers to understand where product is within their trucks. Order Picking For decades, pickers used paper lists of items that needed to be retrieved from the warehouse and loaded into boxes or onto pallets. Technology improved and cases within the warehouse received barcodes and were tagged with their location, and pickers began using RF technology to improve their speed and accuracy. Nonetheless, picking required immense amounts of manual labor, was exhausting and prone to error. Augmented reality and other technologies change this picture entirely. Using Smart Glasses, tablets, or even smart phones and paper is no longer needed. Instead, a warehouseman receives instructions displayed on the smart device, sorted in the optimum order for picking to take the least amount of time and effort. Using Smart Glasses, employees keep their hands-free to pick up items as fast as possible. Because of this, the entire process is faster, more efficient, and less prone to error. Item Receiving There are many benefits using augmented reality and Smart Glass in the receiving of products in the warehouse. Receivers use the Smart Glass to scan an item to receive in the location where it will be placed. The Smart Glass can also suggest the location and warehouse into which the quantity should be received. Smart Glass can receive items into the correct warehouse in the correct location quickly and easily. Errors are reduced up to 60%, and the entire process is more productive. Training The task of training is made immensely easier by using augmented reality. Since the Smart Glasses or devices tell warehouseman exactly what to do in real time, training consists of teaching employees how to use the technology, which only takes a few minutes. Tutorials and training videos can be shown directly on the smart device as needed by the trainee. This allows new employees to be put to work almost immediately after they understand how to use the glasses, scanners, and can perform the data entry functions that are needed. Loading and Unloading Trucks According to a DHL report in 2014, truck drivers spend 40% to 60% of their day searching through their truck, locating boxes for the next delivery. To find a box, drivers rely upon their memory of where it is located. (DHL, 2014). Augmented reality, combined with other technologies such as artificial intelligence, neatly solves this problem by helping drivers load packages and optimal places within their trucks, and then directing them as they unload.

5 Benefits of SmartApp SmartApp is a Software as a Service offering by Vigilant Technologies bringing in efficiencies to the picking and receiving process within your warehouse. It eliminates the need for printing, by providing instructions to employees in conducting their jobs. It greatly reduces the errors and provides real-time inventory data to make better decisions in picking and receiving of goods. Cloud Based SmartApp being cloud-based is flexible and scalable. The advantage is that updates to the software and operating system are done off-site and remotely, out of sight and out of mind. Businesses don t have to worry about updates or maintaining the system. Accurate Accuracy of picking and receiving is improved dramatically. Errors are reduced up to 60% compared with paper-based picking, and efficiency and productivity can increase by as much as two times. Paperless Eliminating paper improves efficiency and accuracy, since numbers don t have to be copied from the paper to the computer or vice versa. Hands-Free Additionally, since Smart Glass enables hands-free operation, warehouse pickers and receivers can use their hands to get other functions of their job done. Real-Time The paperless solution provides live feeds from/to the source system, this enabling a robust synchronized solution.