A unifying voice

Warehouses are becoming more automated by the day, with many combining an ever-wider selection of material handling equipment and technology designed to speed and streamline operations. Experts say collaborative robots, wearable technologies, autonomous forklifts, and automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) are coming together like never before in a single facility as companies take a “best-of-breed” approach to automating for current and future needs.

But how do warehouse workers connect to all of those technologies to create efficient and effective workflows throughout the facility?

Voice-directed technology may just be the answer. Long used primarily as a picking solution, voice technology is now used for many other workflows, such as receiving and putaway, and is increasingly functioning as an interface between human workers and the various machines they interact with during the course of that work. The trend highlights a shift occurring in warehouse automation strategy that emphasizes the value of humans and machines working side by side, according to Joshua Franker, head of marketing for voice technology and warehouse optimization software company Lucas Systems. That shift signals a move away from an earlier strategy that was focused on reducing labor by turning warehouses into robot-dominated facilities.

“Instead, the focus is how do we create the most efficient and accurate versions [of a facility]—knowing that humans are still a part of it?” Franker says. “Robots and humans all working well together—how do we do that and create the most efficient and accurate warehouse [operations] that we can?”

This story was originally published by DC Velocity. Read the full story at DC Velocity →