Chinese automated mobile robot company Geek+ is taking part in an exhibit at DHL’s Asia Pacific innovation centre in Singapore to showcase automated and completely integrated ecommerce.

Named the Warehouse of the Future, the exhibit integrates Geek+’s RoboShuttle tote-picking robot and robot-arm technology for full-scale automation.

“This project not only marks a new milestone for the logistics and supply chain industry but a milestone in the global relationship between Geek+ and DHL that follows a number of successful robot deployments in several of DHLs’ warehouses in Asia Pacific,” said Hongbo Li, CTO at Geek+. “DHL’s innovation centre will provide an exclusive look at how robotics are already powering the industry’s most efficient warehouses, proving to decision-makers that the future of automation is here today.”

The accelerated rise of ecommerce and challenges posed by the global pandemic have fuelled intense interest in the capabilities that AI and robotics-enabled automation can provide for building operational resilience.

The innovation centre displays Geek+ RoboShuttle tote-picking robot built on AMR technology, working with Osaro’s collaborative robot arm to provide fully automated logistics processes. This supports both outbound and inbound logistics operations.

“We’re excited to showcase the future of logistics robotics,” said Derik Pridmore, CEO of Osaro, “The combination of Geek+ RoboShuttle and our exceptional Osaro pick-and-place capabilities not only reduces labour-intensive operations but also provides a flexible, scalable solution without fixed infrastructure.”

For order fulfilment, the RoboShuttle autonomously finds the tote containing ordered items, picks the tote and carries it to a picking station using its fork arms. Once at the picking station, the robot arm picks items from the tote, packs the order, and prepares it for outbound delivery. The operational performance is displayed on dashboards throughout the entire process, providing visitors with the information needed to view in real time the improvements that robotics automation can bring to logistics in terms of efficiency, accuracy and flexibility.

“Customer-centric innovation has a very important place in DHL and we drive this through close partnerships with leading companies in technology, start-ups, industry thinkers and of course our customers,” said YingChuan Huang, innovation manager at the innovation centre. “The Geek+ exhibit is the perfect showcase of how technologies such as AI, computer visioning and robotics are not only converging, but also building off the strengths of each technology to provide even greater value to our customers’ supply chains.”

Geek+ has 300 global customers and has sold more than 20,000 robots worldwide. Founded in 2015, it has over 1500 employees and is headquartered in Beijing, with offices in Germany, UK, USA, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

DHL has about 400,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide.