IFOY Audit
Finalists undergo the three-stage IFOY Audit as part of the IFOY Audit, which takes place during the TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS. This consists of the scientific IFOY Innovation Check, the IFOY Test and the jury test.
SSI Piece Picking
SSI SCHÄFER
SSI Piece Picking enables fully automated piece picking. It is used where individual pieces in the small parts area have to be picked and highest precision is required. This versatile solution, which includes a dedicated smart software, boasts advanced functions such as Pick&Place, object recognition using artificial intelligence (AI), a patented gripping point determination, and extremely gentle product handling.
Product name and company
SSI Piece Picking – SSI SCHÄFER
Category
Stationary Robot / Robot Warehouse System
Description
SSI Piece Picking from SSI SCHAEFER is an innovative robotics solution for single piece picking. It automates and accelerates the repetitive and strenuous process of manual order picking and offers flexibility during peak times. AI-supported object recognition and modern gripper technology enable the safe and fast gripping of goods. This is done with compact suction cups that can grasp even the smallest parts without delay, reach every angle and handle the products gently. But even larger/heavier products can be handled thanks to the automatic adaptation of the speed.
Machine learning also enables the robots to gain experience with each pick and learn from it, creating a knowledge database available to all other robots. In addition to the Pick&Drop process, Pick&Place is also used to handle products gently and make optimum use of the fill level. Further features will follow shortly, including fully automatic pouch loading (Pick-to-Pouch).
WAMAS Piece Picking from the WAMAS portfolio provides optimized control for material flows. The vision software module included in the logistics software acts as the “mastermind” of the industrial image processing solution, thus eliminating the need for time-consuming teach-in processes. The black box design enables complete pre-installation including factory tests, while the Plug&Play installation makes start-up uncomplicated. The solution is flexible and can be ideally combined with goods-to-person workstations.
Innovations
Over time, some challenges emerged with the previous version, including a limited reach due to the articulated arm robot, limited functionalities (Pick&Drop only), and a challenging integration into the overall solution. The new version, on the other hand, offers numerous strengths:
- Based on existing software and experience.
- Higher reach through gantry robots.
- New functionalities such as Pick, Scan&Place.
- Easier integration due to black box concept.
The combined cell/robot PLC (programmable logic controller) integrates motion control, logic, safety aspects and process control in a single system. No Teach-in is required – only information on the size and shape of the products from the host is necessary. Read rate optimization through barcode detection significantly increases process reliability. Smaller, compact suction cups are used instead of conventional grippers, enabling fast and adaptable handling of even the smallest parts.
Seamless integration with existing WAMAS installations allows a smooth connection to the WAMAS WMS/MFS (Warehouse Management System/ Material Flow System) business logic. The stand-alone robot cell is equipped with state-of-the-art 2D and 3D vision to precisely control the material flow of the robot. In addition, the black box scenario allows independent handling of error situations without direct interaction with the WMS/MFS.
Market relevance
With an annual growth rate of over 50 percent in the area of Piece Picking, this solution has extremely high market potential. Piece picking is a cost- and labor-intensive process that requires a high level of concentration from employees. The picking robot in combination with WAMAS Piece Picking offers an efficient solution to relieve labor and make order processing effective.
The application is particularly well suited for slow and medium movers and can be intelligently combined with conveyor and shuttle systems. Due to the high system reliability, SSI Piece Picking is not only suitable for the industry, but also for e-commerce and third-party logistics providers (3PL). For the fashion sector, the combination with the planned Pick-to-Pouch solution is particularly interesting.
However, the SSI Piece Picking solution shows its full potential especially in the healthcare and cosmetics industry, where gentle handling and error-free picking are of utmost importance. In the pharmaceutical sector, it can already cover 80 percent of the product spectrum, including various packaging shapes such as cubic, cylindrical, tubular and blister packaging. The product range is continuously being expanded to support even more formats.
Customer benefits
Patented pick point optimization: The patented pick point optimization causes an artificial displacement of the grip point, thereby ensuring that barcodes are not covered and can be scanned immediately.
High performance: The use of gantry robots with suction cups instead of grippers offers maximum flexibility. The speed of the robot is individually adapted to the product, allowing up to 1,200 picks per hour.
Pick&Place: The robot handles delicate products carefully, placing them as close as possible to the bottom of the container or to items already in the container. This further optimizes the use of the available fill level.
Smart technology: Artificial intelligence (AI) in object recognition and integration of scanning and weighing functions ensure error-free product verification. Unexpected challenges, such as unreadable barcodes, can be automatically resolved by the system, minimizing manual intervention.
High-performance software: The powerful software, which is part of SSI SCHAEFER’s WAMAS portfolio, forms the backbone of the solution. It can be seamlessly integrated into existing systems and provides a robust basis for controlling the robot.
Versatile in use: Whether cubic, cylindrical, tube-shaped or blister packaging – the application can be used across all industries for a wide range of product assortments. And thanks to machine learning, it gets better with every pick.
Test report
Due to the complexity of the fully automated piece picking system, the piece picking module from SSI SCHÄFER could not be tested during the IFOY TEST DAYS in Dortmund. It was therefore inspected during an on-site visit at LogiMAT 2024.
Centrifugal forces due to the rotational movements of an articulated robot are a thing of the past with the piece picking system developed by SSI SCHÄFER. Instead, a miniature gantry robot moves the gripper of the piece-picking cell to any position on the source and target containers. With the articulated arm robot, the gripper had a limited operating range and it was no longer possible to gently deposit sensitive goods. The main aim of the new development was to avoid container changeover times. While manual pickers can handle up to 350 picks per hour, the automated solution can handle around 1200 picks per hour – around four times as many. With three-shift operation, the amortization period of less than a year is therefore not really surprising.
The focus of the development was not only on the robot itself, but also on a holistic view of the technology, including feeding, removal and safety technology. The robot takes care of everything: fewer interfaces, less communication and no need for an operator to explain to the robot how it should deal with any errors that occur. SSI SCHÄFER has also found solutions for typical sources of error, such as problems with gripping or incorrect placement of products, which are then ejected. A double pick is also detected and put back “on the fly”. In addition, patented pick point identification is integrated to ensure that a gripper does not cover a barcode.
As the robot has three target containers available, sequencing is also somewhat more flexible. There is always one position to pick from and at least one position to place in. The source containers can have up to four subdivisions, which means that four products can be offered in one source container.
For the gripping process itself, there is a 2D and a 3D camera whose two images are superimposed. The suction cup itself can also bend or grip sideways in two stages (no more is necessary). The weighing tolerance of the system is five grams (with a maximum of 35 kilograms). The parts are moved at a speed of two meters per second.
The SSI piece-picking cell is manufactured in Kamen and delivered to customers in a compact 20-foot container. A first system has already been delivered to an Irish pharmaceutical distributor, and an identical cell will follow. Eight piece-picking robots based on articulated arm technology are already in use in Canada. The project is being driven forward by the three SSI SCHÄFER locations in Giebelstadt, Graz and Kamen. SSI SCHÄFER is also offering the robot cell to other general contractors.
IFOY Verdict
SSI SCHÄFER carries out the factory acceptance test with the customer. After delivery, the piece picking cell is usually ready for operation within one day. The gantry robot with suction cups offers maximum flexibility and can handle sensitive goods carefully by placing them as close as possible to the base of the container or to goods already in the target container. The piece-picking ensemble is suitable for a wide range of applications: cubic, cylindrical, tube-shaped or blister packs.
IFOY Innovation Check
Functionality / Type of implementation
The picking system, which reliably picks many types of goods from two source containers to three target containers of variable sizes, made a technically solid impression in the test and is of very high quality. By using a gantry robot, the working area can be optimally covered at high working speeds of up to 1200 picks per hour compared to an articulated robot. Many well-conceived details such as an articulated suction gripper, a sheathing on the suction gripper for additional stability of the grasps, optimized gripper poses without concealing barcodes on the product, product-specific optimized robot motion speeds and many high-quality sensors to ensure maximum fault tolerance stand out positively in the implementation.
Novelty / Innovation
The main innovation of this picking robot for single item picking is the high degree of integration with the surrounding conveyor technology and the extensive safety functions, such as a barcode scanner for product verification, light grids above the bins to detect successfully picked or dropped products and high-quality weighing technology (tolerance 5 g at 35 kg) to avoid double picks. The resulting error tolerance and robustness should result in 10 times fewer errors and manual interventions. Another innovative feature is the compact standard container format of the picking system, which means that the factory acceptance test can be completed at the manufacturer site and put into operation in the customer’s warehouse within one day.
Customer benefit
Thanks to the container format and good integration with the surrounding conveyor technology, it can directly replace a manual picking station. The automatic picking solution is designed for optimum utilization with high throughput and achieves the same performance values with a comparable footprint to the manual picking station. As the cell controller controls the robot and the peripherals, it can detect most errors during operation and often solve them itself or feed them into a manual process via the conveyor system. The system is easily accessible from all sides and therefore easy to maintain.
Market relevance
In the growth market of picking systems for automated warehouses, the picking system particularly addresses the e-commerce, pharmaceutical, retail goods, fashion and goods distribution center sectors and impresses with its fully integrated control connection to the warehouse’s conveyor technology. The payback period is one year in three-shift operation or two years in two-shift operation.
IFOY verdict
The SSI Piece Picking solution addresses the growing market of automatic piece picking in automated warehouse systems. The system, which is technically very solid and optimized in detail, is highly reliable and has a high degree of integration with the conveyor technology and safety functions, and therefore achieves an order of magnitude higher process error tolerance and robustness as well as a performance of up to 1200 picks/hour. Due to its compact container format, it can be put into operation at the customer’s premises within a day and pays for itself after 1 to 2 years.
| Functionality / type of implementation | ++ |
| Novelty / Innovation | + |
| Customer benefits | ++ |
| Market relevance | ++ |
| ++ very good / + good / Ø balanced / – less / — not available | |
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The International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year has three bodies: Jury, sponsors, and advisory board.