Massachusetts-based Locus Robotics has introduced a data science-driven warehouse automation platform to control autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).

The LocusOne platform uses proprietary data science to support material movement needs, enabling seamless operation and management of large quantities of multiple AMR form factors as a single, coordinated fleet in all sizes of fulfilment and distribution warehouses.

“LocusOne makes it easy to deploy and manage large numbers of AMRs and multiple form factors within very large warehouses to work together as a single, orchestrated fleet,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics.

He said LocusOne helped operators gain the flexibility and critical business intelligence needed to handle efficiently material payloads from 0.08 to 1360kg.

The platform supports a thousand or more robots, operating in sites as large as 100,000m² or more, executing multiple use cases simultaneously in a single, intelligent and orchestrated way.

With LocusOne, LocusBots engage in a diverse array of tasks, including item and case picking and putaway, replenishment, pallet building, routine routes, point-to-point transport, and counting, within a single warehouse. The data science behind the scenes optimises the mix of tasks throughout the day to achieve optimal warehouse productivity.

LocusOne can integrate with any WMS to provide flexible and dynamic fleet management and enables easy deployment of a mix of Locus Origin, Vector and Max AMRs tailored to meet each warehouse’s needs. Regular enhancements are released as over-the-air updates to Locus’s installed base of more than 250 customer sites.

“Locus lets DHL Supply Chain deploy the right bot for our customers’ varied needs, all centrally coordinated and managed on one platform,” said Sally Miller, digital transformation officer for DHL Supply Chain in North America. “With Locus’ powerful data science strategy, delivered through the LocusView dashboards, LocusOne plays an important role in providing the key business intelligence insight we need to optimise operational efficiency and improve service quality for our customers. Partnering with Locus has helped us deliver on our commitment to continuous innovation and digital transformation across the entire supply chain.”

Locus’ data science foundation makes it possible to navigate hundreds or even a thousand or more bots smoothly in a single footprint as well as deliver predictive and actionable management guidance in real time to improve throughput across a multitude of use cases.

LocusOne includes the LocusView package, which delivers data-driven, actionable insights across more than two dozen insightful reports and real-time dashboards, including labour guidance, predictive insights for work completion, operational comparisons against targets or time periods, order pool tracking and guidance, mission analysis and optimisation, and key performance visualisation.

“LocusOne’s ability to integrate rapidly and efficiently with other automation technology such as sortation or packaging systems ensures that nimble, scalable robotics can be easily deployed into both brownfield and greenfield environments,” said Faulk.

LocusOne is available through the company’s robots-as-a-service (RaaS) business model. Locus Origin, Vector and Max can be added to existing and new workflows, enabling operations to scale and adapt dynamically to changing market demands.

Locus showed LocusOne at last week’s Promat event in Chicago.