Automation specialist Prime Vision has formed a new partnership with robotics developer Delft Robotics to create advanced automated robotic solutions for the postal and logistics sector.
The partnership will see Prime Vision combine its postal recognition technology with Delft’s highly flexible robotic arms and versatile 3D vision sensing capabilities. This will enable the intelligent robotic systems to actually ‘look’ at their working environment and cope with product differences. This is particularly important in the postal sector, where the processing of a wide variety of parcel shapes and sizes remains a major barrier to wide scale robot adoption.
Such advances in technology are particularly relevant for pick-and-place robots, which need to recognize each parcel type, grasp it accordingly, and place it where required. Already demonstrating its expertise in this area, Delft Robotics won the prestigious Amazon Picking Challenge twice. By applying deep learning on 3D images, the robot was able to effectively recognize and grasp a great variety of products. Items ranged widely in shape, from soft clothing and boxed DVDs, to water bottles and toothbrushes, indicating the system’s recognition potential.
The partnership between Prime Vision and Delft Robotics will also lend itself to integration with the Internet of Things (IoT). Both companies believe that the mid-term future of postal logistics will see printed electronics propel the sector into a world where every parcel is ‘smart’, which in turn will demand the evolution of recognition methodology. By working together, Prime Vision and Delft Robotics will be able to create dynamic and cost-effective solutions to meet those demands.
Ultimately, the new partnership between Prime Vision and Delft Robotics will enable company experts to join forces and empower each other. Delft Robotics AI robot vision technology and Prime Vision’s knowledge of the global courier, express and postal (CEP) market will facilitate smarter and more cost effective solutions being brought to market faster.
The companies are now looking to form joint research and development ventures with postal companies looking to utilize these technologies.
April 7, 2017