Plus One Robotics today announced that it has recorded more than 1 billion successful picks across its fleet of parcel-induction and depalletization robots. The provider of AI vision software and robots said this achievement demonstrates its leadership in practical applications.
The San Antonio, Texas-based company said its technology can enhance supply chain productivity. Plus One Robotics isn’t the only robotics supplier to hit this kind of milestone. Last year, autonomous mobile robot (AMR) provider Locus Robotics reached 1 billion picks, and this year it hit 2 billion.
These recent milestones indicate that the warehouse robotics industry is reaching a new level of maturity. Robotic systems are proving that they are viable long-term solutions to labor and supply chain challenges.
“Reaching 1 billion picks is an incredible achievement that speaks to the trust that our customers have placed in our technology and to the hard work of our entire team,” said Erik Nieves, co-founder and CEO of Plus One Robotics, in a release. “When we started Plus One Robotics, our vision was to create robotic solutions that would transform warehouse operations and relieve people from low-value tasks.”
“Now, just a few years later, our systems are driving efficiency, accuracy, and speed for some of the biggest brands in the world,” he said. “Best of all, that’s 1 billion picks that people didn’t have to perform manually.”
PickOne designed to address critical industry challenges
This milestone for Plus One Robotics comes at a critical time for the logistics industry, according to the company. In 2023, 20.8% of retail purchases took place online, according to Forbes. By 2026, Forbes said it expects that number to jump to 24% of retail purchases.
While it has slowed since the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing growth in e-commerce sales has placed immense pressure on traditional fulfillment methods. Warehouses are struggling to keep pace with the increasing volume and variety of orders. This leads to inefficiencies, errors, and rising costs.
Plus One Robotics claimed that its PickOne artificial intelligence and vision software addresses these challenges. PickOne provides “eyes” for robots, empowering them to see and understand 3D geometric surfaces, edges, and corners in real time, it said.
PickOne is equipped with Yonder, a human-in-the-loop remote supervisor service. Yonder provides allows remote crew chiefs to act as virtual co-pilots. These co-pilots guide robots through edge cases and complex situations, ensuring over 99% pick accuracy, said Plus One Robotics.
The company added that this human-robot collaboration addresses rising labor costs and safety concerns in warehouses while also supporting rapid adaptation to new SKUs and products.
Experience makes Plus One Robotics more accurate
Surpassing 1 billion picks means that Plus One Robotics has an abundance of data to give it an edge. With over a billion images from all types of parcels and cases, Plus One Robotics said its an ideal partner for scaling with confidence. It added that its human-in-the-loop technology enables robots to learn new SKUs quickly and become more autonomous and intelligent over time.
“We are proving that humans and robots working collaboratively is the future of warehouse innovation,” Nieves said. “I’m thrilled with what we’ve accomplished so far, but warehouse operators know this is just the beginning. There are a lot more use cases for robots in the warehouse; with our scale comes new innovations that will drive the next generation of robot applications.”
Last year, Plus One Robotics brought in $50 million in Series C funding. The funding round came less than two months after it laid off about 10% of its staff. With these new funds, Plus One expected to further increase its capacity and rapidly scale deployment, as well as expand its sales and marketing efforts in North America and internationally.