AMRs, Automation, and the Human Factor

Feb 11, 2021

Whenever the growth of robotics and AI-powered automation in industry is discussed, it is commonplace for concerns to be raised about the impact on employment and job opportunities. Yet far from being...

AGV vs AMR: A Comparison of Automated Material Transport

Feb 09, 2021

From Automated to Autonomous: What’s the Difference?  The words automated and autonomous are easily confused and often interchanged, but their meaning is inherently different....

Largest AMR Deployment For Material Handling: Q&A with Matthew Rendall and Matthew Chang

Feb 01, 2021

For years, Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) have been considered a promising technology for materials movement because they provide the flexibility of human forklift, with the throughput and reliabilit...

Proving the Case for Autonomous Mobile Robots

Jan 19, 2021

This is the third blog in our "The Business Case for AMRs" series. You can read the first blog here. We set out, in partnership with PULSE Integration (PULSE), to undertake what we believe is the worl...

The Growing Digital Divide in Manufacturing

Jan 18, 2021

This is the second blog in our "The Business Case for AMRs" series. You can read the first blog here. There is a growing consensus that digitization is opening up a chasm in the manufacturing industry...

The Business Case for Autonomous Mobile Robots in Manufacturing

Jan 18, 2021

First deployment of OTTO AMRs at scale at an F500 company demonstrates clear benefits in productivity, cost savings, and robustness.Analysis reveals that a single AMR unit represents just 10% of the e...

Bringing Robotics and People Together in the Supply Chain

Aug 27, 2020

Tech experts and manufacturing leaders have upheld automation as the future of the industry for years. At the same time, for as long as robots have worked in factories, people have voiced concerns ove...

What Skills Are Needed to Be a Connected Worker?

Aug 20, 2020

Industrial analysts frequently debate what traits people need to shine in today's workforce. A person working on a production line needs manufacturing skills, plus communication capabilities, the will...

4 Signs Your Warehouse Environment Needs Mobile Robots

Jul 30, 2020

Mobile robots in warehouses help companies increase their output and meet customer demands, allowing the companies to maintain a competitive advantage. Specific characteristics make warehouse environm...

Business Resiliency: How We’re Enabling Our Customers and Partners Remotely

Jul 22, 2020

COVID-19 has impacted us all as we manage through our new normal. Now more than ever, we’re committed to helping manufacturers realize the immediate benefits of AMRs by adapting our services for remot...

Prioritising Health and Safety Around Workplace Automation

Jul 16, 2020

With 73% of companies expecting to have automation technologies adopted within the next 5 years, there is little question that the steady growth of AI-driven automation in the workplace is having a pr...

Canada Enlists Robots in the Fight Against COVID-19

Jul 06, 2020

On March 11th of this year, the World Health Organization confirmed that the COVID-19 outbreak had become a global pandemic. The world changed overnight as we grappled with the fear and uncertainties ...

What To Ask Your AMR Vendor About Scale Before You Buy

Jun 18, 2020

This is the third and final blog post in our series on scalability where our VP Product, Jay Judkowitz, shares valuable guidance on achieving scale with autonomous mobile robots (AMRs)....

Building a Scalable AMR Solution: Keep Traffic Flowing

Jun 11, 2020

This is the second blog post in our series on scalability where our VP Product, Jay Judkowitz, shares valuable guidance on achieving scale with autonomous mobile robots (AMRs)....

Building a Scalable AMR Solution: How OTTO Scales

Jun 04, 2020

This three-part blog series will focus on AMR scalability. Authored by our VP Product, Jay Judkowitz, the series will delve into how scale is achieved at OTTO Motors and the questions you should consi...

Core Value #1 - “Customer First”

Jun 01, 2020

Today marks an important milestone for the company we started in a cold basement with lime green carpets some 11 years ago. The world was a very different place back in late 2008 - The global financia...

Embracing the Digital Mindset: Top Takeaways From MHI’s 2020 Industry Report

May 14, 2020

The 2020 MHI Industry Report provides a wealth of data, analysis and recommendations for your company’s investment plans. Since all five of the top company challenges have remained the same since 2019...

3 Ways Autonomous Mobile Robots Can Improve Your Safety Culture

Apr 30, 2020

Workplace safety has been a prevalent concern for the manufacturing industry, one which has been heightened as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. With approximately half the American workforce still phy...

5 AI Technologies and Their Application in Materials Handling

Apr 22, 2020

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is expected to have a seismic impact on logistics, with estimates that the technology could add between $1.3 trillion and $2 trillion a year in value to the industry.   Th...

From Market Insights to Customer Experiences: Our Take On MODEX 2020

Apr 16, 2020

MODEX 2020 was certainly a different experience for attendees and exhibitors this year. On March 11th, while MODEX was in full swing, the World Health Organization announced that COVID-19 had become a...

Top 3 Takeaways From PLANT's 2020 Advanced Manufacturing Report

Mar 11, 2020

PLANT Magazine recently released its 2020 Advanced Manufacturing Report. While the report included many insightful statistics into the importance of investing in advanced manufacturing technologies, t...

OTTO Motors to Expand Into Japanese Markets With Its Mobile Robots

Mar 02, 2020

Originally posted in The Robot Report on February 12th, 2020....

The 3 Most Successful Ways to Automate Your Supply Chain

Feb 19, 2020

Supply chain automation uses technology to manage and streamline complex processes. Respondents to the 2019 MHI Annual Industry Report believe supply chain automation will upend the industry by adding...

4 Ways Automation Will Transform Skills Needed in the Workplace

Feb 13, 2020

Every major technological breakthrough in human history has pushed people to embrace new skills. Fears that new technology will make people obsolete and force them out of work are also nothing new; pe...

Improving Supply Chain Agility with Autonomous Material Handling

Feb 05, 2020

Exceptionally agile companies can process more materials and manufacture products faster than competitors. Companies benefit from quicker deliveries and better service as a result of being agile, beca...

3 Ways Demand-Driven Supply Chains Benefit From Autonomous Vehicles

Jan 30, 2020

A demand-driven supply chain is flexible enough to respond to real-time signals. It supports fluctuating customer needs, and enables seamless warehouse communication in order to adapt to those changin...

Choosing The Right Material Handling Technology: Why Sunview Patio Doors Automated with AMRs

Jan 22, 2020

Sunview Patio Doors (Sunview) quickly understood that manual material movement was limiting their efficiency, flexibility, and safety. Read more about the challenges that led Sunview to incorporate au...

The Cost of Doing Nothing is Dangerous: Why Sunview Patio Doors Changed From Manual Material Movement

Jan 08, 2020

With 40 years of experience, Sunview Patio Doors (Sunview) is a leader in their industry. Sunview has been successful at meeting customers’ increased demands for faster and better service, while provi...

Five Key Industry 4.0 Technologies

Jan 02, 2020

Originally posted via ARC Advisory Group. New Industry 4.0 technologies, spanning mobile computing to cloud computing, have undergone vast development in the last decade and are now ready to be used a...

iRobotics Industry Set for Seismic Change as Growth Shifts from Fixed Automation to Mobile Systems in Enterprise

Dec 23, 2019

Originally posted on Robotics Tomorrow on December 10th, 2019. ...

The Impact of Automation on the Logistics Labor Market

Dec 17, 2019

Unlike the trials of driverless cars such as Uber, Google and Tesla, adoption of autonomous vehicles in warehouses and factories has progressed past the prototype stage, as part of a rapid, global shi...

How Industry 4.0 Material Handling Technology Impacts Critical KPIs

Dec 12, 2019

Material handling in warehouses and factories is an inefficiency often forgotten about, or completely ignored, in the manufacturing industry. However, material handling is an essential variable cost t...

'Tis the Season of High Demand and Few Available Workers to Meet It

Dec 04, 2019

With the holiday season upon us, factories and warehouses are starting to feel the full effects of the increase in gift purchases and the decrease in available labor. From clothing to electronics to a...

How Becoming a Showcase Facility Will Benefit Your Bottom Line

Nov 26, 2019

Warehouse managers who invest in innovative Industry 4.0 technology, such as automation, increase efficiency, reduce costs related to human error and adequately meet client needs. Automation can also ...

What Is the Smart Factory and Its Impact on Manufacturing?

Nov 21, 2019

You don’t have to look too closely to see that technology is having a profound impact on how factories operate today. The application of technology is making the process of manufacturing ever increasi...

How the 4 Main Sources of Waste Are Costing Factories Time and Resources

Nov 14, 2019

Waste reduction is an ongoing priority in many warehouses because companies understand the direct connection between eliminating waste and increasing efficiencies in the warehouse.  The four main sour...

Warehouse Automation Market to Hit $27B by 2025

Nov 07, 2019

Originally posted by Robotics Business Review on September 12th, 2019. ...

North American Robot Shipments Grow Beyond Auto Industry, RIA Says

Oct 31, 2019

Originally posted on Robotics Business Review on February 28th, 2019. ...

Robots Will Be Working in 50,000 Warehouses by 2025, Report Says

Oct 24, 2019

Originally posted by Robotics Business Review on March 26th, 2019....

Key Takeaways From Top Performing Industry 4.0 eBook

Oct 17, 2019

Automation has transformed the way factories and warehouses work, making it cheaper and faster to produce a wide variety of products. However, material handling remains an inefficiency in manufacturin...

Robot Mimicry or Mastery? The End of Bench Manufacturing Is Near

Oct 08, 2019

Originally posted by IndustryWeek on April 30th, 2019. Written by Ken Pulverman, CMO of Parsable....

OTTO Motors Discusses Safety of Self-Driving Vehicles Around Workers

Oct 02, 2019

OTTO Motors CTO Ryan Gariepy had the opportunity to present “8 Steps to Safer Autonomous Vehicles” at ROSCon JP on Wednesday, September 25th, 2019. Ryan had a blast discussing Industry 4.0 in front of...

Top 3 Takeaways From MHI's Annual Industry Report

Sep 25, 2019

The 2019 Material Handling Institute (MHI) Annual Industry Report contains a wealth of data on how companies are adopting new supply chain technologies. Here are the top three takeaways you need to kn...

How Autonomous Robots Benefit the Supply Chain

Sep 19, 2019

Manufacturers often struggle to find ways to improve their supply chain. Labour displacement, hiring challenges, and an increased need for safety all negatively impact productivity. However, investmen...

Hiring Qualified Workers Remains Industry’s Top Challenge

Sep 09, 2019

Ahead of other worthy contenders like customer demand for lower prices, faster response times, competitive pressure, and forecasting, manufacturers named “hiring qualified workers” as their top challe...

Move Fast and (Don't) Break Things: Commercializing Robotics at the Speed of Venture Capital

Aug 28, 2019

Clearpath, the parent company of OTTO Motors, had a blast attending 2019 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Montreal, Canada from May 20-24, 2019. Our CTO, Ryan Gariepy...

Understanding Industry 4.0

Jun 20, 2018

You’ve heard it in the context of thought leadership, in conversations about advanced manufacturing, and from tech giants who are propelling innovation, but what exactly is Industry 4.0? To quote our ...

Does Automation Lead to Job Loss?

Jun 06, 2018

There is no denying that technology and automation are changing the way we work. With advancements in robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and autonomous mobile robots comes fear that many traditio...

6 Lean Manufacturing Principles

May 30, 2018

Most manufacturing companies will waste a large amount of resources in a single year -- sometimes as much as 90%. Following lean manufacturing principles, which originated from the Toyota Production S...

5 Supply Chain and Logistics Trends for 2018

May 25, 2018

This year is shaping up to be a transformative one for the supply chain logistics industry. Digital technology and other supply chain technology trends are enabling big changes for how companies sourc...

How Manufacturers Can Use Data to Improve Predictive Maintenance

May 09, 2018

When manufacturing production stops for an unplanned event, such as equipment failure, it accumulates down time. Maintaining equipment and machinery while keeping costs down is a constant challenge fo...

How Autonomous Mobile Robots Contribute to a Culture of Safety

Apr 12, 2018

"Our goal is to meet human levels of performance and far exceed human levels of safety." - Ryan Gariepy, CTO and Co-founder, OTTO Motors...

MODEX 2018: Get Maximum Business Impact with OTTO Motors

Mar 29, 2018

Many of this year’s MODEX attendees will go to the show to see what technology is coming and how innovation can help the future of their business. But for those attendees that visit the OTTO Motors bo...

Removing Roadblocks of Machine to Machine Communication in Manufacturing

Mar 08, 2018

A big part of maximizing the value of industrial automation, and full realization of the benefits of Industry 4.0, is the flow of data and information. This has applications in a lot of environments, ...

OTTO Motors Joins Walter Isaacs on Onstage at SXSW 2018

Feb 28, 2018

On March 10th, 2018, OTTO Motors CEO and co-founder, Matthew Rendall, will join Walter Isaacson on stage as part of a special taping for the podcast Trailblazers. This will mark the second year in a r...

How Industrial Autonomous Mobile Robots Use Sensors for Localization and Mapping

Feb 14, 2018

Any investment you make in your operations comes with an expectation that it is going to start providing value back into your business as soon as possible. Reliability and accuracy are crucial to runn...

Autonomous Technology is Transforming Medical Device Manufacturing

Feb 07, 2018

Autonomous technology enables improved and more efficient production in increasingly complex and competitive industries, such as medical device manufacturing. ...

Technology and Material Handling Equipment

Feb 01, 2018

How efficiently materials move through a manufacturing or warehouse facility will affect the cost of production as much as any other part of the supply chain. Given its importance, companies have foun...

Autonomous Mobile Robots as an Asset in the Warehouse

Jan 18, 2018

Automation has changed the landscape of the modern warehouse. It’s technology that can be used to improve operations by increasing efficiency, speed, reliability, and accuracy. High on the list of aut...

Lean Material Handling: The Role of AMRs in a Lean Environment

Jan 11, 2018

The manufacturing industry has been moving towards a lights- out approach, that is factories and warehouses operating with as little human intervention as possible. This has led the industry to adopt ...

Increasing Material Flow Efficiency in Your Supply Chain

Dec 20, 2017

Modern supply chains are fast, with most company’s success dependent on their ability to efficiently move parts from around the world to manufacturing facilities. Products move from a raw material sta...

The Move to a Connected Factory

Dec 07, 2017

Many of today’s customers want customized products, which does not always make for a cost-efficient manufacturing process.  Automation technology allows businesses to meet customers’ demands by integr...

Material Handling Process Best Practices

Nov 30, 2017

The foundation of warehouse efficiency is set by the material handling process. Inefficiencies in the handling of goods result in decreased performance throughout the warehouse operations, which in tu...

The Importance of Measuring Warehouse KPIs and Metrics

Nov 23, 2017

Measuring warehouse KPIs is one of the most critical components of managing a warehouse, and setting benchmarks for production, quality, safety, or service goals is essential. Whether a process is man...

Improving Materials Handling and Warehouse ROI Through Automation

Nov 16, 2017

Every warehouse is concerned with operating costs, and automation is one way to reduce expenses and increase efficiency. Automated warehouse operations can lead to increased productivity, better mater...

The Plant Manager's Guide to Industry 4.0

Nov 02, 2017

On October 26, 2017, managers from across North America joined us for a live webinar on the opportunities and challenges of Industry 4.0 for plant managers in manufacturing. The following is an introd...

How Industrial Robotics Create a More Productive Work Environment for Employees

Oct 25, 2017

Industrial robots have been used by manufacturers for decades. But, the ways and the complexity of tasks they can perform within that environment has increased dramatically in recent years. One way in...

OTTO Answers Questions on Industry 4.0

Oct 18, 2017

Cisco Canada recently sat down with industry leaders to ask some of the most common questions about Industry 4.0. The questions come from Canadian manufacturers, many of whom are still skeptical of th...

Using Kanban and Inventory Management to Increase Production Efficiency

Oct 12, 2017

Kanban is a lean manufacturing system that controls the rate of production by storing and using materials only when they are required. This means each step of the production process keeps on hand only...

Autonomous Technology for Your Manufacturing Facility

Oct 05, 2017

On September 27, 2017, leading manufacturers from across North America joined us for a live webinar on the current state of material handling, the challenges associated with it, and how self-driving t...

Material Handling in the Packaging Industry

Sep 26, 2017

As a manufacturer in the packaging industry, you are forced to deal with an unprecedented level of product varieties and package complexities, along with overall manufacturing challenges such as labou...

Being on Time, Every Time: On-Time Delivery & Customer Satisfaction

Sep 21, 2017

Meeting customer’s expectations and delivery requirements has to be a priority for every business. In fact, 4 of the top 6 company challenges outlined in the 2020 MHI Annual Industry Report relate to ...

The Heijunka System for Better Materials Management

Sep 14, 2017

When one part of the production process is delayed, it can cause a ripple effect throughout a manufacturing facility. A prime example of how this type of disruption can occur is when the function of m...

How to Build a Value Stream Map

Aug 31, 2017

Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a planning activity used to determine opportunities for a leaner workflow. The value stream is a set of all actions necessary to bring the product to the customer. It ana...

5 Trends in Lean Manufacturing

Aug 29, 2017

[Original post on newcastlesys.com]  While it’s important for lean consultants to stay on top of current trends in lean manufacturing, it is difficult to keep up with advances in technology and new op...

7 Advantages of One-Piece Flow in Manufacturing

Aug 24, 2017

One of the most fundamental elements of creating a lean environment is operating with one-piece-flow. To think of processing one unit at a time can send a shudder through an organisation if this isn’t...

Inefficient Material Handling Leads to Supply Chain Problems

Aug 17, 2017

Every manufacturer is challenged by how to best handle the materials that go into their production. Even an automated production system can have areas of inefficiency which affect many other parts of ...

Introduction to Lean in a Job Shop Manufacturing Environment

Aug 10, 2017

Many companies find lean manufacturing is an effective method to cut costs and operate more efficiently. One area that has not embraced lean fully is the job shop environment, largely because of the d...

Industry 4.0 Fuels Lights-Out Manufacturing [Webinar Recap]

Aug 03, 2017

What is Industry 4.0 and how does it fuel lights-out manufacturing? Is lights-out really possible today or does it remain a far-reaching goal? In our webinar Industrial Robots for Lights-Out Manufactu...

Automated Material Handling is the Secret to One Piece Flow for Lean Production

Jul 27, 2017

Whether you’re running a mid-sized enterprise or a multinational conglomerate, a lean manufacturing system can be integrated in manufacturing and assembly cells that drive a variety of advantages with...

Industry 4.0 Readiness: The Connected Factory is Coming

Jul 26, 2017

In the midst of global change and innovation, there are indications that manufacturing has not kept up. It needs to. With Fortune 500 companies disappearing there is unprecedented threat, but also opp...

How to Set Up a Lean Factory That Works

Jul 25, 2017

[Original post on Industry Week] Lean manufacturers have a leg up on speeding products to market, reducing costs and keeping customers happy. In this overview, I’ll share how to engineer, set up and m...

Forklift Free Manufacturing: Is It For You?

Jul 20, 2017

Fork-free manufacturing is a fast growing ideology that removes fork trucks from the material handling equation. Favouring the use of carts and dollies to move materials to the line, fork-free also op...

Webinar: Industrial Robots for Lights-Out Manufacturing

Jul 13, 2017

Working toward their vision of lights-out manufacturing, automotive parts manufacturer HIROTEC AMERICA jumped at the opportunity to use mobile industrial robots in their facility. But why now? Because...

3 Best Practices to Achieve Lean in Workcell Design

Jul 06, 2017

Traditional machine and fabrication shops divide their floor into multiple departments that group similar equipment or processes, and then move materials in and out once the process is complete. For e...

Lights-Out Manufacturing with Mobile Manipulation: HIROTEC Case Study

Jun 29, 2017

How do you improve throughput and productivity in an environment that is already operating lean? HIROTEC AMERICA asked the same question after spending three decades focused on the K2 philosophy of wo...

In Search of Supply Chain Visibility: Transparency via The Cloud

Jun 27, 2017

[Original post on Industry Week] Responding to market volatility or uncertainty is a top pain point for most manufacturing supply chain executives, and the source of the problem is that most can’t ans...

Manufacturing Work Cell Design: How to Optimize Layout and Minimize Transit Time

Jun 15, 2017

You may have found success with integrating cellular manufacturing into your operation as it brings equipment, people and process into a single location for higher productivity. But you are most likel...

The New Lean: What it Means for Manufacturing

Jun 08, 2017

Written by Diane Huang Lean manufacturing, the buzz words that have been echoing from the walls of management meetings to industrial factory floors. Everyone is striving to perfect a process that is l...

Job Shop Manufacturing: Manual Material Transport Could Cost You $1M/year

Jun 01, 2017

Automation in a job shop can be used to take on low-value tasks so employees can stick to the high-value jobs - we’ve heard this before. Although this statement holds genuine truth, what’s not blatant...

North American Robotics Orders Jump 32% in First Quarter

May 30, 2017

Original post on DC Velocity. The North American robotics market jumped 32 percent in order volume for the first quarter, as industrial and retail giants such as General Motors Co. and Amazon.com Inc....

Clean Power Plan: How Public Policy Affects Manufacturing

May 25, 2017

Part 3 of our series on How Policy Affects Manufacturers explores changes to the Clean Power Plan. Announced in August 2015 by President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the plan f...

Right-to-Work: How Policy Affects Manufacturers

May 18, 2017

As part of our series, "How Policy Affects Manufacturers," we're discussing changes and impacts of right-to-work laws - it’s shaping up to be an active year in the U.S., with more individual states jo...

How the Industrial IoT Drives Productivity in Factories

May 04, 2017

Technologies that offer connectivity and utilize the IoT (Internet of Things) are able to collect and report a tremendous amount of data. As factory operators are continuously looking to solve for adv...

The Future of Facilities Management: 4 Technologies Changing How We Work

May 02, 2017

Original post by Control Solutions Inc.  Automation has long been a focus for facilities managers, whether that has meant the installation of dynamic thermostats in offices or working with full buildi...

Wage Increases: How Policy Affects Manufacturers

Apr 27, 2017

Labor is a variable, complex expense within the manufacturing sector that holds a great deal of influence on how an organization operates. Even incremental changes in minimum manufacturing wages can s...

Lean Manufacturing with Flexible Automation: GE Case Study

Apr 19, 2017

At GE Healthcare’s 280,000 square foot Repair Operations Center in Milwaukee, a fleet of OTTO autonomous mobile robots are used to deliver parts to workstation cells to handle over 2,000 repairs of me...

5 Reasons to Use Material Handling Automation

Apr 13, 2017

The concept of the last mile, and companies who are focused on making those deliveries, seem to get all the attention these days – largely thanks to Amazon and the talk about drone deliveries for the ...

Can Millennials Solve the Manufacturing Labor Shortage?

Apr 06, 2017

The Manufacturing Labor Shortage...

Automotive Manufacturing Keeps Up with Future Demand

Apr 04, 2017

Original post by David Stain at Zebra Technologies.  The future of automotive manufacturing in the UK automotive is set to increase by a third, to two million vehicles a year by 20201. And as the IoT ...