Surprising Technologies are Changing Logistics and Production in Japan
Automation is critical to the manufacturing and logistics industries. Smart factories and warehouses depend on ever-higher levels of automation, where machinery, equipment, and sensors are all connected to the network, allowing software control programs to autonomously run entire processes and self-optimize performance by integrating data and adapting to conditions in real time. Although many businesses have been trying to upgrade their operations by bringing together automated machinery with software applications and IoT devices, some processes are still considered too challenging to automate. Recently, however, surprising solutions are being developed by Japanese small and medium enterprises for these previously intractable processes.
Motion Planning Technology for ‘Picking’ Robots at Logistic Warehouses
The global warehouse automation market is predicted to more than double from 2018 to 2025, with estimates reaching USD 27.2 billion, up from USD 12.6 billion. The market is expanding due to strong industry growth supported by eCommerce fulfillment and increasing warehouse labor costs, although many warehouses are still manually operated with no supporting automation. “Because warehouses handle such diverse items, our efforts to develop picking robot solutions were thought to be not only an inefficient investment but also too challenging,” said Takino Issei, co-founder and CEO of Mujin, an intelligent robot controller provider. Conventional industry robots function well in precisely set patterns but fail when presented with irregular tasks. As the items they handle become more diverse, the teaching process for the robots, in which engineers adjust programming and provide detailed instructions on specific timing and angles for each joint movement, is becoming longer and more complicated, prolonging setup time and increasing installation costs. Mujin, however, applied motion planning technology, which had never been put to practical use in robotics, to control picking robots at actual logistics sites. “The core of Mujin’s robot controller is a motion planning technology that can perform incredibly complex computations, enabling robots to reason about their surroundings and figure out what to do and how to handle a diverse array of items in real-time,” says Rosen Diankov, co-founder and CTO. "With our robot controllers, picking robots function without a teaching process. Our solutions not only reduce installation costs by as much as 80% but also increase the efficiency of picking items,” Diankov added. Improvements made to the picking process significantly impact the entire warehouse management because the cost of order picking is often more than half of the total warehouse operating expense, and the proportion of work load at the process is more than 60% of the entire work load at logistics warehouses.
Easy-Assembly Transformable Motorized Roller Conveyor System
Modernization of conveyor systems also contributes to logistics warehouse automation. Available in many design layouts and used in countless applications, conveyors have increased throughput and efficiency while reducing human error and operational cost. A material handling solutions provider, Itoh Denki, has developed internally motorized conveyor rollers (MDR). “MDRs enable each section of the conveyor to be divided into small zones, in which an internal motor turns the rollers. Each zone’s rollers are powered independently, and the zones can be configured to run only when items are present. This enables MDR conveyor systems to significantly reduce noise, energy consumption, and maintenance costs,” Itoh Tetsuya, CEO of Itoh Denki explains.
Facing frequent changes in market conditions, many operators are eager to upgrade their conveyor systems to more flexible and sustainable ones. “Conventional conveyor systems were extremely complicated to design and assemble. Thus, operators could not easily replace modules or components, extend conveyor modules, or change conveyor layout,” explains Itoh. “The lack of specialist engineers was a serious bottleneck, so we developed an innovative solution named id-PAC, a solution package of standardized MDR conveyor modules and software programs, which allows operators to intuitively design conveyor layout, and set up plug-and-play style modules to complete a conveyor system, making modification, extension, and assembly of MDR conveyors very easy.” This gives customers greater flexibility in designing their intralogistics systems, allowing them to quickly reconfigure to changing situations.
Tracking Items in Temperatures as High as 1200℃
Tracking items is critically important for improved productivity, allowing data accuracy and operation speed to be increased. Proper tracking relies on precise item identification throughout all processes, and tags or labels marked with barcodes, QR codes, RFID, and other identifiers play a vital role in carrying item data, which is digitally trackable. When processing environments, such as those with high-temperature furnaces, make tagging impossible, manual operation requirements increase significantly, as does the chance for errors. “Heat-processed materials such as metals and ceramics were believed to be digitally untrackable, and are often still tracked manually with chalk marks, hammered stamps, or other methods. Manual operations frequently cause inspection errors, delaying and disrupting supply chains,” explained Takehisa Kenji, the CEO of YS Tech.
Started as a spin-off of Yushi Seihin, a chemicals trading company, YS Tech successfully developed temperature- and chemical-resistant barcode labels for cathode ray tubes, and extended its heatproof lineup, utilizing a heat-activated adhesive and materials that can withstand temperatures up to 1200℃. YS Tech’s heatproof labelling tags now allow item tracking to be completely automated. “Our customers weren’t aware that our heatproof technology was even possible,” explains Takehisa. “We need to do more research on different methods to develop new heat-resistant identification products, including those for steam heating, long-duration heating, and repeated temperature changes. We believe there are limitless future application possibilities,” Takehisa added.
Integrated Solutions and Cloud-based Platforms for Higher Levels of Automation
Just as YS Tech developed heatproof identification tags, which enabled operators to gather information of the tagged items digitally and track them with software applications, Mujin and Itoh Denki focused on offering integrated software platforms with real-time monitoring functions on top of their controllers and conveyor systems using embedded sensors, cameras, and other IoT devices. “We have been pioneering the development of motion planning robot control technology with a cloud-based platform for efficient picking robot utilization,” says Takino of Mujin. “Our integrated solutions contribute to increasing productivity and saving manpower. By listening to our customers’ needs, we can continually improve,” says Itoh of Itoh Denki. Firms throughout Japan are continually working to develop high-level solutions for automation.
Note: All Japanese names in this advertorial are given in the traditional format, with the family name preceding the given name.
To learn more about Mujin, Inc., click here.
To learn more about Itoh Denki Co., Ltd., click here.
To learn more about YS Tech Co., Ltd., click here.
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