Vision-Guided Pallet Trucks Provide Big Savings

Sept. 30, 2011 - PRLog -- Vision-Guided Pallet Trucks change the automation paradigm according to manufacturing journalist Thomas R. Cutler in the in current issue of AutomationMedia.com.  Cutler profiles how Seegrid is taking a unique role in these technologies.

Transforming industrial pallet trucks and tow tractors into robotic industrial trucks use sophisticated 3-D machine vision technology to "learn" their surroundings, making them flexible, simple, and affordable. Seegrid CEO, Dr. Scott Friedman suggests that, "Facility managers now redeploy resources and maximize the productivity of the existing workforce. WalkThroughThenWork technology (developed by Seegrid) allows these robotic trucks to be up and running in hours, not weeks or months. Streamlining and reducing the cost of the movement of materials in manufacturing and distribution environments, the technologically advanced solutions reduce costs for companies, creating economic and operational advantages.

Vision-guided technology is currently available in two types of robotic forklifts: Robotic Pallet Trucks and Robotic Tow Tractors. The Pallet Trucks replace manned trucks in traditional warehouse operations for manufacturing functions including putaway, transfers and selection, long hauls and cross-docking. A worker simply positions the truck under a pallet, inputs the selected route on the keypad, and the Robotic Industrial Truck does the rest.



These vision-guided industrial robotic trucks improve efficiency across several industries:
CPG
Automotive
Pharmaceutical
Grocery
3PL
Food, Beverage, and Tobacco
Electronics
Postal
Warehousing and Distribution
General Manufacturing
Labor Efficiency defines Automation Merit

By incorporating the Pallet Truck into current processes, managers are able to refocus workers' efforts to higher value-added tasks, reduce wait and downtime in operations, and decrease the work hours lost by non-value-added manned travel distances. Friedman is clear that, "The ability to quickly adapt to seasonal and market changes, allows Seegrid's GP8 users to reduce dependency on temporary and seasonal workers. Operations managers are able to rapidly, proactively or reactively, change routes and transfer them to other trucks in the fleet. These unique elements make our Pallet Truck a flexible, scalable, and easy-to-operate solution."




About Seegrid:

Founded in 2003, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Seegrid Corp. (www.seegrid.com) brings robotic vision-guided technology to the material handling industry. With more than thirty years of innovation and research by the leading robotic scientists, engineers, programmers and logistics practitioners worldwide, Seegrid’s exclusive Robotic Industrial Trucks are revolutionizing the movement of materials in manufacturing and distribution environments. Seegrid’s technology transforms industrial vehicles into un-manned, automated pallet trucks and tow tractors that operate without the need for wire, tape, laser or other costly automated guided vehicle (AGV) guidance systems. Seegrid offers solutions that optimize workflow processes by increasing productivity and reducing costs, creating economic and operational advantages. Scott Friedman, Co-Founder and CEO of Seegrid, started the company with a clear mission: taking the driver off a forklift would be safer and save money.  Seegrid is now poised as a leader in the $38 billion forklift market.


Seegrid Corporation
www.seegrid.com
Dave Noble
PR@seegrid.com
412-379-4500