The Armada Fleet Management System enables one operator to manage multiple forklifts simultaneously. | Source: Third Wave Automation
Third Wave Automation today announced the commercial availability of its Armada Fleet Management System, or FMS. The system serves as the central interface for the company’s Shared Autonomy Platform.
The Armada FMS enables a single operator to safely and effectively manage multiple TWA Reach and TWA Extended Reach forklifts simultaneously, said Third Wave Automation (TWA). Operators can use the system to execute and monitor workflows and dynamically configure warehouse zones. Armada FMS does this while integrating with other warehouse management systems (WMS).
“Third Wave Automation is driving smarter automation in the warehouse with its AI-powered Shared Autonomy Platform,” stated Arshan Poursohi, co-founder and CEO of the company. “However, this would not be possible without an intelligent fleet management system that provides a powerful connection between remote operators and the autonomous forklifts on the warehouse floor.”
“Our Armada FMS is fundamental to achieving our customers’ performance goals,” he added. “Providing a single interface through which remote operators can monitor the forklift fleet performance on the warehouse floor.”
Shared Autonomy addresses labor challenges
Warehouse operators are facing significant challenges with labor, but demand for their services grows. They have seen labor costs increase by about 80% in the last five years, while staff turnover averages about 30% monthly, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These staffing challenges hamper operators’ ability to manage workloads and maintain a safe environment.
Third Wave Automation said its Shared Autonomy platform can streamlines warehouse operations, using machine learning to directly addres these issues while also increasing efficiency and safety. It includes the TWA Reach line of forklifts using Armada FMS.
TWA forklifts can operate in four modes: fully autonomous, remote assist, remote operation, and traditional manual operation. As these forklifts are deployed, the company claimed that Armada FMS enables warehouse supervisors and operators to benefit from:
- Streamlined workflows through Shared Autonomy: Robotic high-reach forklifts can be operated in various modes, all supported by the platform. It can handle new and unique workflows and various racking configurations to quickly address any challenges the forklifts encounter.
- Improved visibility and collision avoidance: Using obstacle-detection systems, including lidar and camera feeds from the robotic forklifts, remote operators can gain insights into the location of potential obstacles, even if they’re not visible to the naked eye. This also helps the robots navigate around obstacles autonomously and get a better view of target pick-and-place locations.
- Intuitive assist queuing: The system includes support for multiple, efficient forklift paths. This resolves issues and increases autonomy time, improving throughput.
- Responsiveness to dynamic warehouse conditions: Third Wave Automation said that Armada extends beyond the capabilities of traditional warehouse management systems by providing tools like on-the-fly region block, task prioritization, and schedule management. These tools enable supervisors to quickly and efficiently respond to real-time changes in the warehouse environment, it said.
Third Wave Automation provides warehouse hardware, software
Founded in 2018, Third Wave Automation said it can alleviate increasing supply chain stress with intelligent automation products and services. The Union City, Calif.-based provider of autonomous high-reach forklifts offers proactive collision avoidance and tools to minimize delays that could affect pallet movement and throughput.
Third Wave Automation said it brings people and automated systems together to improve throughput, efficiency, and safety beyond what people or automation could achieve alone. The company said its system easily integrates into existing workflows without costly infrastructure changes commonly required by traditional automation, providing customers benefits from Day 1. It will be exhibiting at Booth 5433 at Automate next week.