Drone Picker

Drones are a new opportunity for the supply chain industry, and several solutions have already been proposed. With Drone Picker, we aim at the next groundbreaking step of drone-based indoor logistics.

Information

Background

Indoor logistics is becoming more and more automated, and the flexibility introduced by the use of robots, e.g. mobile robots such as MIR or Kiva, is revolutionizing the way wharehouses are managed. Drones are a new opportunity for the supply chain industry, and several solutions have already been proposed, from RFID scanning to wharehouse management systems (WMS) with integrated drone solutions for are already been tested for scanning barcodes and as a support tool for wharehouse management systems for e.g. inventory counts. With Drone Picker, we aim at the next groundbreaking step of drone-based indoor logistics.

Purpose / Vision

The focus of Drone Picker is to use drones for bin picking and as a tool to improve and speed up order picking in e.g. wharehouses, manufacturing cells, supermarkets, greenhouses and the like.

The goal is to develop a drone that is able to pick objects at a specific location defined by the WMS and place it on a workstation of e.g. an assembly line.

A demonstrator will be developed to show the effectiveness of using a drone solution in wharehouse management.

The project aims at collecting both SME and non-SME companies, counting potentially:

1-2 larger wharehouse operators, e.g. supermarket chains, assembly line owners with cellular manufacturing layouts, greenhouse owners or the like, to provide test case and testing grounds
2-3 SME drone, RFID and WMS related companies to provide insights regarding the challenges that the project will face and to develop business models for different supply chain industries.

Expected results

The outcome of the project will be a demonstration at TRL5 (Technology validated in relevant environment) which will serve as a proof-of-concept for application to national and international fundings. A collaboration for a project proposal for IFD Grand Solutions, is envisioned by the partners in the expected 2021 winter call for proposals. The technology will require further investigation and increase of TRL. It is expected that it will take at least 3 years to achieve commercialization of services with the developed technology. This will be done via technology transfer from academia and GTS to private companies and the sharing of knowledge will be open and with high visibility also by the general public.