Ocado Intelligent Automation Debuts Porter AMR Robot

Ocado Intelligent Automation announced the debut of its Porter AMR autonomous pallet moving robot.

Ocado Intelligent Automation (OIA), part of Ocado Group, has introduced Porter AMR, a pallet moving AMR that navigates warehouses to automate several warehouse workflows such as cross-docking, bulk-item picking, putaway, and pallet movement.

OIA’s patented system directed software orchestrates each Porter autonomous pallet moving robot–or a whole fleet of them – to reduce travel times and avoid warehouse congestion. Ocado’s Fulfillment Execution System (FES) groups orders to maximise case picking, optimise route plans and reduce steps between picks. Meanwhile, machine learning prioritises and plans pallet stacking intelligently to avoid product damage.

“Porter from OIA automates low value, manual tasks and fosters a more productive workplace by supporting associates, increasing case picking rates, and automating the movement of high volumes of inventory,” said Jeff Larson, Director of Solutions Design for Ocado Mobile Robot System at OIA.

“Companies in third-party logistics, retail, ecommerce, distribution, and healthcare can maximise warehouse productivity and scale operations up or down easily without depending on manual forklifts and expensive certified forklift drivers.”

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Porter picks, moves and places pallets directly from the floor with precision, even when they are aligned back-to-back. It recognises its surroundings to safely handle and transport heavy loads autonomously and can be configured to handle cages, increasing flexibility and expanding fulfillment capabilities.

Features:

• An onboard touchscreen with a live front camera view, enabling associates to safely maneuver Porter in manual mode.
• A 3,300 pound (1,500 kilograms) payload capacity to transport densely packed pallets.
• The ability to transport one pallet or two roll cages on a single trip.
• Dynamic task switching software that seamlessly transitions Porter between inventory movement and case picking tasks as operational needs evolve.
• Advanced built-in sensors to detect, recognise and handle any open or closed standard pallet types, including Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool (CHEP), Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and European Pallet Association e.V.(EPAL) pallets.
• A slim, counterbalance-free design with a tight turning radius to operate in pallet lanes as narrow as 51 inches (1.3 meters) wide.

Porter integrates with existing wall to wall fulfillment platforms, warehouse execution systems (WES), warehouse control systems (WCS) and warehouse management systems (WMS), to prioritise tasks with minimal disruption and increase warehouse productivity. These systems can collaborate to:

• Pick and pass complex orders across multiple robots.
• Automate inbound and outbound pallet movement from automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) from OIA or other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
• Connect to robotic arms to deliver or pick pallets from palletising and depalletising areas.

Porter’s advanced vision system enables it to navigate safely and autonomously without requiring infrastructure changes or manual intervention. Moving at speeds of up to 4.5 miles per hour, the AMR dynamically adjusts its speed when detecting people or equipment in the area, ensuring workplace safety. Porter intelligently parallel parks itself in aisles to reduce congestion.

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