Honeywell is working with California-based Stereolabs on a mobile method to measure quickly and accurately the size, volume and weight of boxes and pallets in a distribution centre.

The goal is to help increase delivery speed and lower shipping costs.

The collaboration will combine Stereolabs’ stereoscopic cameras, which use a vision-based AI perception system to measure the dimensions of products, with Honeywell’s SwiftDecoder software (automation.honeywell.com/us/en/software/productivity-solutions/vision-solutions), which captures barcode data and other written information. This should help logistics operators plan truck loading, understand the number of vehicles needed to transport goods and effectively trace the items being transported.

“Products stored in a warehouse and transported on a truck contain a wealth of data, from weight and size to the item’s name, expiration date and warning label on the box,” said David Barker, president of Honeywell’s productivity and services division. “Finding a way to capture these data in one place and use them effectively to streamline processes presents a challenge for many operations. By combining the strengths of Honeywell and Stereolabs, we can help the supply chain operate more efficiently and address major pain points.”

Today, many warehouses and logistics providers operate manually, with some using tape measures and weigh scales to determine the dimensions and weight of products for transport. Others use fixed systems or scan tunnels to identify and measure each box and package coming through a conveyor belt. In contrast to these often inefficient processes, the mobile offering from Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) and Stereolabs will allow for more agile daily operations in distribution centres.

It integrates the Stereolabs Zed stereoscopic camera and calculator with SwiftDecoder barcode-decoding software to capture critical weight and dimension information. From there, data are automatically uploaded to a central database, allowing a business to understand the volume and composition of the boxes and pallets transported in each trailer in real time so it can plan the most efficient and cost-effective way to transport, load or de-stock goods.

“Integrating Honeywell’s SwiftDecoder software together with our Zed cameras and advanced perception stack was a smooth and efficient process,” said Olivier Braun, chief product officer at Stereolabs. “We are now able to deliver rich, all-in-one data capture, combining product dimensions, barcode data, optical character recognition information and high-quality imagery that is seamlessly ready for integration into any warehouse management system.”

Stereolabs (www.stereolabs.com) specialises in 3D vision and AI perception. Its Zed stereo camera line and SDKs enable real-time depth sensing, motion tracking and 3D mapping, empowering robotics, off-road autonomy, logistics automation and smart infrastructure worldwide.