Robotic logistics has finally found its footing in the world. Here's the information you need to prepare yourself for the logistics of the future.

The future of logistics is now! And it's going to be robotic.

Until a couple of years ago, there were relatively few robots in the material handling and distribution industry. Automation has traditionally been challenging for this complex industry.

Recently, however, the pace has really picked up in robotic logistics. We are now starting to see huge investment in the industry. For example, in June 2018 Google invested $500 million in automated logistics for JD (the Chinese equivalent of Amazon). And towards the end of 2017, Alibaba invested $15 billion in its own robotic logistics infrastructure.

The global market for warehousing and logistics robotics is now projected to exceed $22 billion by the end of 2021.

Clearly, it's time for us to get clued in about robotic logistics!

What is robotic logistics?

Logistics is the management of the flow of things. These things can be physical (like product, inventory, or materials) or digital (information).

The logistics industry is huge. I think it's fair to say that it holds together our modern world. Without logistics, we would all still be living on self-sufficient farms; we'd have to, in order to survive. Logistics keeps us alive.

Because logistics is so far-reaching, it includes a huge amount of different processes: warehousing, ordering, transportation, picking, packing, disposal, delivery, inventory, merge-in-transit, routing, recycling, expediting… and that's just to name a few!

Robotic logistics simply means applying robotics to one or more of these processes.

There are obviously a lot of potential robotic applications. Here are some of the most common:

• Robotic palletizing. Robots load or unload products and materials from pallets.
• Robotic packaging. Robots are used in both primary processes (packaging raw materials) and secondary processes (packing pre-packaged goods into larger boxes, crates, etc.).
• Robotic picking. Robots are used in sorting and warehousing, and for picking products from shelves.

The future of logistics is now! And it's going to be robotic.

Why you should pay attention

The current boom of logistics robots has been a long time coming—at least 10 years, in fact. At Robotiq, we've been fortunate enough to witness the whole journey.

Back in 2008, our CEO Samuel Bouchard wrote a blog post on the arrival of the innovative Kiva Systems robotic warehouse. Four years later, in 2012, Amazon acquired Kiva Systems. This acquisition could reasonably be called the starting point for a new type of automated logistics.

But why is this year, 2018, the moment to pay attention to robotic logistics?

Well, it seems we're approaching a tipping point. A 2016 trend report from logistics giant DHL explained that two factors are driving the need for autonomous logistic solutions right now:

1. E-commerce growth. Product distribution has been totally flipped on its head over the last decade. Products are now packaged individually and sent directly to customers, rather than shipped in bulk to suppliers as they were in the past. Now there's a huge variety of different packaging requirements, heavier shipments (as heavier items are being bought online), and higher-speed distribution requirements.
2. Labor shortages. The skills gap is affecting many industries, not just logistics. I've written before about how robotics can help tackle the skills shortage in manufacturing; robots are also a solution for logistics.

Robot technology comes of age

There's also a technological reason why logistics is the new "hot industry" for robotics. Several technologies have recently become viable for real-world logistic applications.

Autonomous guided vehicle (AGV) technology is being used in autonomous forklifts, artificial intelligence (AI) applications are popping up all over the place, and collaborative robots are allowing robots to work alongside humans.

As it says in the 2017 Material Handling and Logistics US Roadmap 2.0, "Oh, how quickly the world is changing. And the supply chain right along with it."

How will robotic logistics look in the near future?

Robots are already being used in logistics—sometimes extensively. Therefore, the logistics of the future will be similar to today's, except that robotics will gradually find its way into more and more applications.

As we've seen in many other industries, robots will primarily be used for dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks. Due to the complexity of supply chains, human workers will almost certainly play an important role forever. 

The DHL Robotics In Logistics trend report paints a picture of how robots will be used in the three main parts of the supply chain, as described below.

1. Distribution centers

Scalability is the key to the future of distribution centers, where robotic applications include packing, automated surveillance, automated inventory management, and picking.

Collaborative robots are likely to become important for tasks like co-packing, where humans and robots in the same area work on different steps in the packing process. You should also expect to see more of swarms, drones, and surveillance robots. Exoskeletons, like the ones we saw at automatica 2018, may be used to help people pick up heavy loads.

2. Sorting centers

Sorting centers stand between huge distribution centers and the end customer. The big difference here will be 24-hour operation, allowing a continuous flow of goods from supplier to customer.

Robotic applications in sorting centers include autonomous maneuvering, container loading/unloading, autonomous stock replenishment, and self-driving trucks.

We often see companies using cobots to achieve something close to 24-hour operation. For example, our WALT Machine, Inc. case study shows how the company was able to double daily production by running robots for 15-20 hours a day.

3. Last mile delivery

Last mile delivery is probably the most well-known robotic application among the general public.

Robotic applications include automated aerial delivery (drone delivery), mobile parcel stations, automated sorting, and robot-assisted two-person handling.

Because the media discuss it so often, people probably think that last mile robotic delivery is closer to being a reality than the other applications we mentioned. On the contrary, however, businesses will probably be much slower to adopt robots in this area. It's much easier to add a cobot to your sorting center, for instance, than to convince your customers to accept drone deliveries.

As the DHL report says, "Exciting as it is, robotics technology seems to be arriving slowly but surely in cautious and well-considered stages."

What area of logistics do you think robotics will be most useful for? Tell us in the comments below or join the discussion on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or the DoF professional robotics community.

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