Locus Robotics Ideas Portal
The feature to consider is the installation of a port that can supply power and comms from the Max robot, to a fixed, building-side conveyor, so that it is not required to run power or ethernet to the P&D station.
When a section of conveyor, often a single-pallet section, is used as a P&D station, that short section of conveyor needs to have power if the robot will be picking up pallets from that location. (If the location is a dropoff-only location, then inexpensive gravity conveyor can be used.) The Max robot has a 4kWh energy system that runs at 24V and it typically has a 24V MDR (motorized drive roller) installed on top of the bot. The building-side conveyor is typically the exact same conveyor, with the exact same controller, and exact same power requirements.
For the purpose of visualization - what is needed is something that is identical to the charge dock connector (maybe even THE charge dock connector) that can supply power to the building-side conveyor when Max docks to the conveyor.
If comms for the handshaking between the conveyor and the bot are also handled through the physial connection, then the reliability would be increased, and the network infrastructure would reduced and simplified. In fact, with zero pressure accumulation conveyors, once they are wired together, the handshaking is automatic.
If we eliminate the need for running power to the P&D stations, then our install costs, lead times, and reliance on outside contractors is significantly reduced or eliminated. This would save hundreds of thousands of dollars for our customers, and substantially increase the number of opportunities we can address, as significantly decrease the time and effort required to address them.
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Problem/opportunity trying to be solved
Max needs to have a P&D station. Conveyors have the most pros and fewest cons in most circumstances. Powered conveyors are expensive to install, primarily due to the cost of running power to them, especially if many of them are required and they are spread out over the building. |
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Quantify the problem/opportunity
Automatic Pickup and Dropoff capabilities are a key part of the value prop and ROI for most Max installs. So almost every Max opportunity needs to have a P&D station included, and the less expensive we can make it, the better. |
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What is the root cause of the problem/opportunity
Running power to every endcap of every rack in a building is expensive and it will limit the number of opporutunities that make financial sense for our customers. |
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| Customer need date | Nov 8, 2022 |
| Urgent request | No |
| Report Tag | Deployment |
