How Alibaba is using Robots to triple its productivity level

Take a look inside Alibaba’s smart warehouse where robots do 70% of the work.
They can carry up to 500 kilograms above them around the warehouse floor.
They have special sensors to avoid colliding into each other and they can be summoned using wifi.
When they run out of battery, they can take themselves to a charging station. A five minute charge can power them for 4/5 hours.

These Wifi-equipped, self-charging machines are responsible for moving goods in the warehouse.

The automated delivery boys started working at the warehouse in July, and have helped the warehouse increase its output by threefold, according to Quicktron, the manufacturer of the robots.
The machine has been named Zhu Que, or the Vermilion Bird, which is a spirit creature in the Chinese mythology.
The robots receive instructions via Wifi signals. They would then find the goods and move them to the designated drop-off points for human workers to pick up.
Each of the machines is fitted with laser detection which prevents them from bumping into each other.
Once fully charges, the robot could work eight hours non-stop.

Measuring 90cm (35 inches) long, 70cm (27 inches) wide and 30cm (12 inches) tall, Zhu Que can travel up to 1.5 metres (five feet) per second and carry a load as heavy as 600kg (1,322 pounds).
Quicktron said the robots have saved workers from running around the warehouse to find goods.
Traditionally, a worker could sort 1,500 products during a 7.5-hour shift after taking 27,924 steps; with the help of Zhu Que, the same worker could sort 3,000 products during the same period of time and only 2,563 steps need to be taken.
‘The robots need to collaborate with each other and work independently at the same time. They represent the highest level of China’s warehouse robots,’ said Cainiao Logistics, an Alibaba branch that manages the warehouse.
You Yuquan, a logistics expert from Cai Niao, said the robots could lift and rotate the shelves, which makes it easier for human workers to reach the goods.
Mr You also said that the company could store goods along all of the four sides of the shelves, which increases the available storage space.
According to Quicktron, the warehouse will recruit another 40 of these delivery robots.

The self-charging robots help the company save 70 per cent of manpower in the 21,000-square-foot warehouse.

Sources: Daily Mail, Business Insider

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