Honeywell International Inc. yesterday announced that it will integrate its SwiftDecoder barcode-decoding software into Corvus Robotics Inc.’s autonomous aerial drones. Warehouses and distribution centers can use the software and drones to more accurately and quickly track rapidly changing inventory at the case and pallet level, said the partners.
“As the labor shortage continues to plague the supply chain, we know that companies are looking for solutions to supplement their human workforce,” stated David Barker, president of Honeywell Productivity Solutions and Services. “By automating inventory counting and providing real-time data, the Honeywell-Corvus Robotics solution will help retailers keep up with growing demand and complexity, reduce inventory discrepancies and errors and improve overall supply chain performance.”
Charlotte, N.C.-based Honeywell said its business is aligned with three “megatrends” — automation, the future of aviation, and energy transition — underpinned by the Honeywell Accelerator operating system and Honeywell Forge Internet of Things (IoT) platform. The company said its systems can automate processes to help supply chains improve accuracy and more efficiently use scarce labor resources.
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Corvus One automates inventory with drones
Corvus Robotics claimed that it provides “the first and only autonomous inventory management system with warehouse drones running on an AI world model.” The Mountain View, Calif.-based company deploys fully autonomous drones built in the U.S. and offers them via a robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) model.
The Corvus One Autonomous Inventory Management System can conduct inventory audits more quickly than humans could in distribution centers (DCs), noted Corvus Robotics. It can fly through vast warehouses that often have very high shelves, hard-to-reach racks or products, and low-light conditions that can make traditional scanning a challenge, it explained.
By using computer vision to navigate, scan, map, and count inventory in real time, the drones are able to operate without GPS, human operators, Wi-Fi or wireless beacons, said Corvus Robotics.
The system enables customers such as MSI Surfaces and Staci Americas to quickly respond to changes in demand, reduce labor costs, save hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, and enhance the customer experience, it asserted.
Honeywell SwiftDecoder captures more data at once
“We selected Honeywell’s SwiftDecoder software for our cutting-edge drones due to the company’s long-standing expertise in the warehousing sector and the software’s ability to efficiently and reliably acquire data, even in complex and fast-moving DC environments,” said Jackie Wu, CEO at Corvus Robotics.
Honeywell said its SwiftDecoder software can batch scan to capture many barcodes at the same time, making it optimal for integrating with autonomous drones for rapid inventory counting. This capability, coupled with Corvus One’s proprietary onboard sensors and cameras, enables the system to count the number of individual cartons in a single location.
The combination of Honeywell’s software and Corvus’ drones captures real-time data that enables immediate insights into stock levels and case counts, said the company. This can help businesses make informed decisions quickly, respond proactively to any supply chain disruptions, and maintain operational continuity, Honeywell added.
“With Honeywell’s software and our in-house proprietary case-counting AI technology, we can quickly decode many cases in one location, all at once,” said Wu. “Together, Corvus Robotics and Honeywell are empowering warehouses and distribution centers to better manage inventory, reduce operational expenses, and streamline the overall flow of goods throughout the supply chain.”
At ProMat next week, Honeywell will exhibit at Booth S618, and Corvus Robotics will exhibit at Booth E12045 in Chicago’s McCormick Place.
