After this epidemic, all walks of life will accelerate the pace of “machine substitution” in internal logistics.

Oral | Special observer Yang Wei

Interview, writing | Zhenzi

Edit | Huang Zhen 曜

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Super View ｜ Logistics robot presses the

Core tips:

1. The impact of the epidemic on the logistics robot industry is like the front and back of a coin

2. At the project implementation level, industrial robots, including logistics robots, are much more difficult than service robots.

3. The greater demand in the future is the logistics robots in the 3.0 era.

Accelerated pace of “machine substitution” in logistics

I predicted in a dialogue with investment institutions in 2019 that logistics robots will become the infrastructure of warehouses and factories in about 5 years. Now, due to an epidemic situation, this forecast shows signs of being realized ahead of time.

We are a company that provides intelligent logistics robots and systems. Since the outbreak, we have found that some companies that are still waiting to see if they use intelligent logistics robot solutions to upgrade warehouses or factories are a bit anxious. They come from medicine. , Automobile, food, shoes and apparel, e-commerce and other industries, and some companies have asked us whether they can transform logistics robots into pharmaceutical and food delivery robots and disinfection robots used at the front end. All needs have a common characteristic: urgent !!

We predict that after this battle, all walks of life will accelerate the pace of “machine substitution” in the internal logistics link. But the impact of the epidemic on the logistics robot industry is actually like the front and back of a coin.The positive side is the significantly enhanced purchasing power of potential users, and the negative side is the purchase resistance that is difficult to deploy and implement in the field under the epidemic situation. Therefore, the significant increase in the overall sales volume of the industry is expected to reach the second quarter of this year.

The tide of demand for this round can be summarized into two types: 1. Front-end: Medical and living materials need to be efficiently and accurately stored in and out of the warehouse, and distribution; 2. Back-end: Production enterprises urgently need to use fewer people or Unmanned, secure way to restore capacity. Among them, the enterprises whose market demand is accelerating have to increase their production capacity.

From the front end, the general demand of customers is to quickly build a complete and efficient logistics warehouse. “It will not only make the warehouse inoperable because it cannot recruit people, but also reduce the risk of the epidemic spreading in the warehouse.

When a large number of emergency supplies of various categories flow into the warehouse in a short time, it is a huge challenge for the operation and management side. At this time, the intelligent logistics system can play an important role. For example, our independently developed EVO system (rapid integration with user services, intelligent operating systems for multiple types of robots, multiple intelligent devices, and multiple scenarios) is equivalent to the “brain” and “Eye”, the warehouse administrator can understand the inventory, product type and location, container type, warehouse map, robot position in real time, and can also dispatch the same type of intelligent logistics robots across the warehouse area and across floors to realize capacity sharing. This will greatly improve the efficiency and accuracy of emergency materials storage and distribution, and effectively reduce manual intervention.

Intelligent logistics robots and systems are also applicable to hospitals. We have a typical hospital case where a hospital in Shanghai automatically uses the robot “cargo-to-person” picking system based on the demand for medical consumables from patients in each department. Consumables are regularly selected and assigned to intelligent storage cabinets in each ward. Each department scans and collects consumables according to demand. The system can feed back warehouse data in real time so that department managers can purchase or deliver the warehouse as soon as possible according to the warehouse situation and clinical needs .

From the back end Medical devices, drugs, and protective supplies need to be produced on a large scale. Other manufacturing companies must also ensure production capacity in order to survive. < strong> The general needs of customers are intelligent logistics robots and systems that can seamlessly connect with existing automated production equipment and collaborate efficiently.

With the popularization of university education in China, “cannot recruit factory-level employees” is a relatively large problem in manufacturing enterprises in recent years. The Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and even some third-tier cities have this problem . Previously, some manufacturing companiesMore willing to invest money in automated production equipment, not enough attention to internal logistics, many companies are still using traditional manual handling methods. After the outbreak, countless manufacturing companies experienced the difficulty of resuming production, with the result that it was difficult for existing customers to pay back, and new customers who were about to sign contracts also faced the risk of loss. Among them, the most typical ones are automobile manufacturing and electronics manufacturing. Workers need to move a large number of spare parts from the warehouse to the line side warehouse, and then from the line side warehouse to each production line. There are many types of spare parts. Different parts are used in different production links. If a company uses traditional manual handling methods, it will require large-scale manpower. Once it encounters a public emergency, it will be very difficult.

Currently, the number of robots per 10,000 workers in China’s manufacturing industry is only 23-25 ​​units, compared with the world average of 58 units, which is even less than that of small industrial countries such as Malaysia, the Philippines, and New Zealand. We predict that after this battle, many manufacturing companies will accelerate the pace of “machine substitution” in the internal logistics sector. China is the world’s largest manufacturing country. According to statistics in 2017, there are 165 million skilled workers in the country. If the number of robots reaches the world average, the new demand for robots in China’s manufacturing industry will exceed 500,000.

How to solve the on-site deployment problem?

When we see that the demand for the logistics robot market is accelerating and spurred by the epidemic, we cannot ignore a situation that needs to be changed urgently: at the project implementation level, industrial robots, including logistics robots, Service robots seen in the news are much more difficult.

When a user receives a service robot, he usually only needs to look at the manual to know how to use it, and the logistics robot not only requires the provider to perform the internal environment, business process, operation mode, etc. of the warehouse or factory. Planning even requires providers to assist users in unloading and returning smart devices, and installing and setting up software systems. The reason for this gap is that service robots are generally small in weight, operate independently, and have low requirements for accuracy, while logistics robots do the opposite. Small weight means that no professional tools are required for unloading and returning. Single operation means that no complicated settings are required for the software system. In addition, because the service object of the service robot is human, the positioning accuracy is low. For example, delivery When the dining robot travels 10 cm away from the ward door, people only need to take one more step to get the food. The logistics robot works on equipment, and a deviation of a few millimeters will cause the robot and other linkage equipment to alarm and stop working.

“Are logistics robots always hindered by the difficulty of field deployment and implementation?” The epidemic has given us such a torture. The answer is, of course, “Don’t!” How can this situation be changed? I believe that we must accelerate the pace towards instrumentation, standardization, and modularity.

1. Instrumental. Including hardware tooling and software tooling. When a user gets a logistics robot, he must first unload and return to the location. We need to provide him with a set of easy-to-operate hardware tools that can be easily completed by one person. When the logistics robot is connected to the software system, it will automatically build a map, but it needs to manually set the starting point and end point for the transportation. It will automatically plan the path and intelligently avoid obstacles. Mark it to avoid it, and currently these manual tasks are mostly performed by the provider. However, once a public event such as an outbreak occurs, implementation is difficult. We want to turn the software system operation plan into a set of “fool-style” tools that allow users to set it up or allow engineers to remotely operate it. Our technology line is promoting this set of tools. At the same time, the integration of IoT technology and big data technology is strengthened to reduce manual operation and maintenance.

2. Standardization . To deal with the sudden situation that the provider cannot go to the scene, there is another possible development path. When the logistics robot gradually becomes the infrastructure of the enterprise, the enterprise can set the corresponding intelligence The equipment management position or the nearest company to find the corresponding equipment assembly and maintenance company, this office computer has been achieved. For logistics robots to achieve this step, the entire industry must be standardized. This can be based on the automotive industry. For example, the standardization of chassis size, driving speed, ceiling height and other indicators, as well as the unification of test methods and standards, and even product naming logic Of unity. If the implementation methods and steps of each robot company are public, and the tools are basically unified, the professional skills of the implementers will be greatly reduced, which means that without the presence of professionals from the provider, users can also be assisted remotely. Complete the early deployment and later operation and maintenance.

3. Modularity. Early logistics robots have complex and messy internal structures and laborious assembly. Once a component fails, it is necessary to disassemble the machine to move the whole body. The modular design in the past two years Is a development trend of mainstream enterprises. The modular design allows our third-generation intelligent robot of Quick Warehouse Intelligence to achieve easy assembly, easy operation and maintenance, and easy expansion. For example, the operation and maintenance, modular, exposed design, can achieve quick release and quick change, 60 seconds to remove the wheel, 15 seconds to change the battery, which greatly improves the operation and maintenance efficiency.


Logistics robot companies should not “stand alone”

Before the outbreak, companies are more inclined to consider whether to sell immediately from the perspective of ROI (return on investment).After the outbreak, some companies will make decisions faster due to production and transportation safety and advance consideration of future labor scarcity. Therefore, we predict that not only the overall demand for logistics robots will accelerate in 2020, but also the industry in which demand is distributed will be more extensive, such as: medical (including hospitals, pharmaceutical factories, Internet medical platforms), manufacturing (food, protective supplies, electronics Etc.), new retail (non-meal delivery O2O, unmanned supermarkets, etc.), as well as bank, railway airport passenger services, etc. Increasingly rich application industries have brought to the test the product development capabilities of logistics robot companies. When their own standardized products cannot meet the diverse needs of users, should they invest a lot of manpower and material time to develop new products, or give up opportunities? Is there a best-of-breed solution? In this regard, I have two-dimensional suggestions: focus on the industry, running into the highly intelligent 3.0 era; internal and external efforts to improve the flexibility of product development.

Super view ｜ The logistics robot presses the

Thousands of fast warehouse robots “cargo-to-person picking” in rookie Wuxi warehouse

1. Focus on the industry, running into the highly intelligent 3.0 era

I think the core competence of logistics robot companies is to allow robots to perform the functions of handling, sorting, and picking highly autonomously in various environments, and to make users unmanned (less Humanization), intelligent production and transportation. Instead of horizontally expanding the ability to belong to other professional fields, logistics robot companies should develop vertically toward the goal of “intelligent driving in four walls”.

The logistics robot is usually called AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicle). In the 1970s, there were AGV products with fixed guidance paths. We call it the 1.0 era. Kiva robots can be dispatched centrally and collaborate in clusters in a preset flat map. This is a logistics robot in the 2.0 era. At present, many domestic enterprises are at this stage.

I think that the greater demand in the future is the logistics robots in the 3.0 era. It is an AMR (autonomous mobile robot) capable of intelligent driving in various spaces such as large rear storage, front storage (unmanned micro storage), production lines, line side storage, elevators and other spaces. Without having to preset a reference medium, through data interaction with the surrounding environment, it knows where it is and what changes are happening in the surrounding environment, and directs its decisions and acts autonomously through “seeing” and “cognition.” In addition, in some specific scenarios, it also needs to make extremely precise actions according to the results of decision-making, such as manufacturing scenarios, which not only requires very high positioning accuracy of logistics robots, but also requires that it can accurately cooperate with other products on the production line. device. Of course, in the fields of navigation and positioning, state perception, path planning, motion control, safety control, remote operation and maintenance of logistics robots, there is still much room for the application of cutting-edge technologies.

In addition, logistics robot companies should also pay attention to the creation of “smart brains” while improving hardware intelligence. , continue to refine artificial intelligence algorithms to achieve The digitization of people, machines, objects, and fields not only can dynamically and intelligently dispatch robots and other equipment across scenarios, but also support users to formulate better warehouse factory management strategies and production marketing strategies.

2 、 Internal and external force, improve the flexibility of product development

Companies should meet new demands based on their core products. In the context of the epidemic, there will be a variety of demand for robots in the production and living areas. The opportunities that come from the face are very tempting to companies, but in fact, the practitioners have their own strengths. At this time, you need to think calmly What is your core product, and based on this innovation can you achieve efficient landing and differentiated development. Taking Quick Warehouse Intelligence as an example, the latent intelligent robot and the “smart brain” EVO system are the core products. We will not leave them to develop new products, but set up a composite product line-the responsibility is to meet the user’s “non-standard” Demand and must land quickly.

The core products of an enterprise should be highly flexible. The flexibility here contains two levels of meaning: one is the easy expansion of the product, and the other is the easy integration of the product. Take “easy to expand”, composite products have actually existed for several years, but have not been developed on a large scale. The reason is that the previous logistics robots and systems did not implement modular design and standardized interfaces, leading to long product transformation cycles. For the companies in the industry, this means slow income and high input costs. With the development of robot-related processes and technologies, this problem has gradually been solved by the head companies, and other companies will need to keep pace in the future.

It is the general trend for joint R & D or mutual integration with participants in various links in the industry chain. At present, the service model of “single fight” of logistics robot companies is still relatively common. Combining market research and front-end feedback, we predict that after the epidemic situation, the demand for mobile robots in the medical industry and manufacturing industry will increase the most. These two industries have a common feature: the robot is required to add functions that meet the specific needs of the scene in addition to the handling function. . A more economical and efficient service model is that logistics robot companies proactively establish their own ecosystems and cooperate with medical device companies and robot companies. The latter focuses on functions that meet the specific needs of the scene, and ultimately provides users with composite products and complete solutions. Program.

In short, the outbreak of this epidemic has pressed the “fast forward button” for the growth and evolution of the logistics robot industry. The left hand is a huge demand, and the right hand is a lot of difficulties. Everything is urging us to grow quickly.