Symmetry directs workflows for order fulfillment. Source: Zebra Technologies
CHICAGO — Zebra Technologies Corp. today announced new systems that it said will “enable manufacturers to boost visibility, optimize quality, and augment the workforce to operate as a connected factory.”
More than 65% of manufacturers polled said the inability to attract and retain employees was their top challenge, according to the latest Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey from the National Association of Manufacturers. They also said they are investing in new technologies, managing cultural transformation, and converging information and operational technologies (IT/OT) to improve productivity and business resilience.
“The pressure is on for manufacturers to efficiently meet customer demands for quality while managing labor shortages, skill gaps, and efficiency challenges,” stated Andy Zosel. He is senior vice president and general manager for advanced data capture, machine vision, and robotic automation at Zebra Technologies.
“Compared with supply chain operations, manufacturers’ fulfillment is generally smaller-scale and time-bounded,” observed Matthew Wicks, vice president and general manager for robotics automation at Zebra. “A workcell may need parts, and we can prioritize orders and determine the cycle time to fulfill a particular order, which is really valuable in the manufacturing space.”
Industrial automation to advance operational agility
At Automate this week, the Zebra Robotics Automation team is launching Zebra Symmetry Fulfillment, which it claimed will help workers and robots be more productive by optimizing the path of a picker with a team of robots for a directed workflow.
Zebra Symmetry Fulfillment combines autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), wearable technologies, software, and analytics to maintain high standards while improving performance and reducing costs per unit, the company said.
Integrating these technologies can balance throughput and cycle time to enhance overall efficiency, added Zebra. Providing insights into order status and floor operations in real time, it asserted that Zebra Symmetry Fulfillment can enable informed decision-making and allow for quick adjustments to meet changing demands.
Zebra acquired AMR provider Fetch Robotics for $290 million in 2021. It also introduced new mobile robots, accessories, and scanners at MODEX 2024.
“The integration of Fetch and Zebra really leaned into the strengths of Zebra’s handheld and scanning devices with Fetch’s robotics so that workers and robots can be extremely close,” Wicks told Mobile Robot Guide. “Symmetry with the FlexShelf AMR works with the WT6300 handheld and RS5100 ring scanners for robust and high-performance goods-to-person fulfillment.”
“The Symmetry software guides the workflows so that all workers have to do is look at the handheld, which tells them what to pick or scan,” he added. “The robots are orchestrated so they’ll be at the locations in advance of human workers, who can then go to the next positions. Other players in the market have been limited by the speed of the robots.”
Zebra Technologies designs 3D sensors to improve inspection
Automate attendees can also get a sneak peek of the add-on tool for Vision Guided Robotics within the Zebra Aurora Design Assistant software. It includes a Web-based interface that is optimized for collaborative robot users, said Zebra Technologies.
The company said its new 3S Series 3D sensors use patented parallel structured light to perceive static and moving items – including those that are high-gloss, translucent, or transparent – with sub-millimeter resolution and accuracy.
The company said the 3S series can capture features of various sizes and is “plug-and-play” ready with a Power over Ethernet (PoE) connection. They will be bundled with Zebra’s Aurora Design Assistant or Aurora Vision Studio, which are intended to accelerate development and deployment of 3D vision and automation applications.
The 3S40 sensor is designed to scan static objects, integrating them into manufacturing operations to resolve inspection and dimensioning applications with a scanning range of up to 7 ft. (2.1 m). Zebra built the 3S80 to capture dynamic scenes and create 3D point color clouds in real time. It has a scan range of up to 10 ft. (3 m).
“Given our experience in navigation and localization, we’re transforming everything from production to fulfillment,” said Wicks.
Visibility to enhance QA, traceability
Eight in 10 manufacturing decision-makers acknowledged that better connectivity and enterprise technologies at scale are necessary for transforming business, according to Zebra’s Automotive Ecosystem Vision Study. They said they expect industrial machine vision, as well as sensing and monitoring systems, to climb in usage by 2027.
The Zebra FS42 fixed industrial scanner is designed for resource-intensive tasks such as deep learning-based optimal character recognition (OCR) applications and high-throughput scanning requiring speed. Its increased onboard memory and neural processing unit (NPU) enable faster scanning and complex deep learning for machine vision, said Zebra Technologies.
The company said its Aurora Software Suite is suitable for addressing the track-and-trace and visual inspection needs of users at all experience levels. It supports barcode reading and additional inspection tasks like OCR, dimensioning, and defect detection.
“Fetch’s systems orchestrate the orders themselves and how they are allocated to the available workforce,” noted Wicks. “Our system is very lightweight to deploy. Just map to the facility, integrate with the WMS [warehouse management system], and get in orders.”
The FS42 features Zebra’s Aurora Focus for easy setup, deployment, and operation of the device, eliminating the need for other tools and reducing training time, said Zebra.
In addition, Zebra Symmetry handles task and fleet management, plus orchestration, said Wicks.
“It can prioritize orders rather than apply a zone or swarm-based approach,” he said. The analytics specify when orders are completed, when items are going to be picked by robots, and the best paths to take rather than require associates to guess them.
3S Series sensors. Source: Zebra Technologies
Zebra Technologies exhibits at Automate
Lincolnshire, Ill.-based Zebra Technologies said its portfolio includes software and hardware for robotics, machine vision, automation, wearables, and digital decisioning. The company has more than 50 years of experience in scanning, track-and-trace and mobile computing solutions.
With an ecosystem of 10,000 partners across more than 100 countries, Zebra claimed that its customers include over 80% of the Fortune 500. The company will exhibit its expanded portfolio at Booth 1407 at Chicago’s McCormick Place for Automate 2024.
Zosel will present a session on three technological approaches to streamline repetitive tasks on the Innovation Stage. Wicks will discuss the integration of wearables and AMRs to increase picking productivity.
The Zebra 3s40 sensor. Source: Zebra Technologies