Robust.AI yesterday said it has partnered with Saddle Creek Logistics Services to deploy its Carter collaborative robotic platform in the omnichannel supply chain company’s warehouse in Charlotte, N.C.
“Order fulfillment demands speed, accuracy, and agility at scale,” stated Harshil Aghera, Saddle Creek senior director for technology and Innovation. Saddle Creek provides order fulfillment, warehousing, and transportation services.
“Robust.AI’s ability to rapidly deliver customized solutions that automate operations without expensive infrastructure upgrades enables us to meet our clients’ evolving needs efficiently and cost-effectively,” Aghera added. “As we expand Carter use cases, we look forward to unlocking a greater level of modularity and flexibility to drive value and performance for our clients.”
Robust.AI offers collaborative AMR
According to Robust.AI, Carter is an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) designed to safely collaborate with people and augment existing warehouse operations. The AMR’s software-defined functionality allows facilities to dynamically switch functions among fulfillment picking, point-to-point transport, putaway, and mobile sorting, it said.
By automating repetitive, physical tasks and eliminating unnecessary walking, Carter empowers workers to focus on higher-value responsibilities, claimed Robust.AI. This can reduce friction on the floor without compromising warehouse jobs, said the San Carlos, Calif.-based company.
Founded in 2018, Robust.AI added that its robot‘s “drop-in automation capabilities help global manufacturing and logistics providers achieve significant productivity gains.”
Saddle Creek gets results with Carter
Saddle Creek deployed Carter in its order-fulfillment operation for a beauty client. The AMR automates and optimizes tote deliveries between multiple processing and labeling lines and more than 20 designated drop-off points at the company.
In this capacity, Carter functions as a flexible, non-integrated “virtual conveyor” that streamlines material flow without requiring fixed infrastructure. In addition, Robust.AI customized Carter for Saddle Creek, increasing payload capacity to allow for more items to be picked, put, and moved.
“Carter was easy to integrate into our existing workflows and processes, and supports a wide range of fulfillment activities,” said Adam Sauter, regional senior director for operations at Saddle Creek. “Carter’s collaborative technologies truly empower our associates to be more productive and help make their jobs easier and less physically and mentally stressful, which is especially important as we move into the busy holiday season.”
Since deploying Robust.AI’s robots, Saddle Creek said it has experienced improvements including:
- Reduced walking time for manual tote deliveries, freeing workers for higher-value tasks
- Increased tote capacity per trip, driving faster throughput
- Enabled operator-directed robot actions, allowing human oversight when needed
- Balanced workloads between people and robots
- Reduced congestion for smoother, safer floor operations
“At Robust.AI, we build automation that works for people and not around them,” said Anthony Jules, CEO of Robust.AI. “Our partnership with Saddle Creek demonstrates how collaborative robotics can seamlessly integrate into real-world warehouse operations to deliver measurable improvements, quickly.”