Brain Corp, an AI company creating transformative core technology in the robotics industry, announced that its manufacturing partners are involved in multiple pilots and initial deployments of BrainOS-powered autonomous delivery tugs. The commercial rollouts mark the debut of a new robotic application that uses automation to help retailers move inventory from the stockroom out to store shelves.
The rollouts and pilots at major retail locations nationwide are being carried out by Dane Technologies and UniCarriers Americas Corporation, a high-performance material handling equipment company. Brain Corp signed agreements with both companies to enable manufacturing of the tugs. Brain Corp's AI technology enables safe navigation in public environments, capable of operating within high-traffic commercial locations such as retail and grocery aisles.
"The supply chain ends at the customer, not the back warehouse," said John Black, the senior vice president of new product development at Brain Corp. "These new autonomous delivery robots help automate the movement of goods for that 'last 500 feet'—the distance between the stockroom and store shelves. This has huge ramifications for increasing employee productivity, improving customer satisfaction, and reducing potential exposure to workers' comp claims. We are excited to bring this new innovation to market with our manufacturing partners."
The intelligent machines, which are built with BrainOS, an AI software platform for building and using autonomous mobile robots, provide relief to retailers and grocers struggling to keep shelves stocked during the COVID-19 health crisis. The robots eliminate the process of having employees haul heavy, stock-laden carts from the stockroom out to store shelves dozens of times a day. Instead, employees can use the delivery robots to automate the safe transportation of up to 1,000 pounds of goods from one point to another. This results in less wear and tear on employees, enabling more focus on new customer health and safety requirements. It also encourages social distancing by enabling workers to stay in separate zones.
The BrainOS-powered delivery tugs can operate safely within a variety of public indoor spaces, including grocery, retail, airports and warehouses. The units do not require any custom infrastructure or specialized training. Users can leverage a patented "teach and repeat" technology that simplifies deployment and can be adapted to changes in store layout. Users can also leverage cloud-based performance metrics in near real-time to get reports on delivery usage, routes and drop-offs.
About Brain Corp
Brain Corp is an AI software leader that powers the world's largest fleet of autonomous mobile robots operating in commercial indoor public spaces. The BrainOS platform and its cloud-connected autonomy service are used by global manufacturing partners to successfully build, deploy, and support commercial robots at scale across industries and applications. Through intuitive software and controls, BrainOS also enables end customers to easily leverage the power of robotics to offload repetitive, labor-intensive tasks related to floor care, in-store inventory delivery, and shelf-scanning. This frees employees' time to focus on higher-value responsibilities. Working with its partners, Brain Corp has deployed over 10,000 robots within retail, grocery, malls, airports, hospitals, warehouses, and other industries.
