Each robot has three independent axes of motion: two drive wheels and a motor for the “lifter.” As the lifter motor spins, both drive wheels counter-rotate so the lifter appears stationary while the robot spins. The only other major feature is the X-shaped lifter which lifts the shelving pods off the ground.
RUST DRONE STATION SERIES
There is also a charging port (the Kiva bots self-dock when charging) and a series of status LEDs to signal the bot’s activity. This is not your granddaddy’s robot.Įach side of the outer shell has an array of IR sensors and a pneumatic bumper for collision detection and avoidance.
One tiny collision or a dropped pod can cause many thousands of dollars of damages. The robots may seem simple, but consider this: pods can weigh a thousand pounds, distribution centers have tens of thousands of pods, hundreds of robots, and dozens of pack stations. When it gets to a pod, the bot uses a clever lift mechanism, spinning in place to raise a ball-screw that lifts the pod a few inches off the ground. It slowly traverses the floor reading 2D QR/Datamatrix codes every 40″ and takes commands from it’s brain in the cloud before making any movements. In principle, the Kiva bot is pretty simple. While all these components are amazing in their own right (and necessary for the system to function), this post focuses on the bright orange bots droning around the warehouse floor.
RUST DRONE STATION SOFTWARE
Custom designed Kiva shelves (“pods”) that are mobile and highly flexible.The system Kiva developed comprises on 5 key components: Mick teamed up with Pete Wurman and Raffaello D’Andrea in 2003 to found Kiva Systems to fundamentally change the way people and objects move in a warehouse. Before Kiva, the state of the art time-reducer was a bicycle.Īfter a stint at Webvan, Kiva founder Mick Mountz had a realization: if e-commerce distributors could move shelves to people rather than people to shelves, the pick-pack process would be massively more efficient. This process is expensive, inefficient, and error-prone. Traditional distribution centers for companies like Amazon and Staples are powered by an army of people walking miles a day to pick items off shelves and plop them in a box.
RUST DRONE STATION CRACKED
I was able to get my hands on an older generation, end-of-life Kiva bot and cracked open its bright orange shell to expose a brilliant piece of engineering this post shares the fruits of Kiva’s hard work. One of these systems was originally built by a Kiva Systems based in the Boston area. Tens of thousands of mobile (ground-based) drones are already in operation and helping deliver your packages today. Meanwhile, the robotic systems powering warehouse distribution centers are an engineering marvel far more elegant than flying drones. Flying delivery drones can make a compelling marketing tool or ultra-premium feature, but their current hype doesn’t mesh with immediate reality. While this is an interesting vision of the future, current economics make this an unlikely substitute for base-load ground delivery for the next 5–10 years. There’s been a lot of talk about package delivery via flying drones.