By Cypher Robotics

“Yay – time to do inventory!!”

We’re willing to bet no one has said that – ever – with the possible exception of a manager instructing employees it’s that time once again. Why? Because it’s not an intrinsically fulfilling task. In fact, those who’ve carried out this job might argue it’s the polar opposite: A dull, repetitive grind they can’t wait to be done with. And then? Two weeks, a month or three months later – they’re back at the same task.

Before we dive into the solution, we offer a shout-out to those who’ve carried this out in the past, or who might still have this on their plate as part of their job description in a major warehouse or large retail operation. We understand, completely, that cycle counting produces valuable, crucial data for your employer that informs high-level decisions on stock replenishment, retail sales, discontinued blow-outs…the list goes on.

But while it’s valuable for the employer, it’s one of those jobs that always fills one or more of the three D’s: Dirty, dull, and dangerous. Dull? You bet. Scanning codes off endless boxes on endless shelves with a handheld scanner is so repetitive that it’s the very definition of dull. Dirty? Well, hopefully not so much (depending on the warehouse). But danger? In most large warehouses, that’s very real. Employees often have to scan not only at ground level but at height. And that means the employee has to be lifted to the same height as the inventory.

Yes, there are occupational health and safety standards that must be met: You can’t send an employee up on a rickety ladder anymore (thank goodness). But – whether using a modified forklift or some other mechanical aid – human beings still have to be lofted up to heights from which a fall could cause serious injury or worse. And when you combine this with the fact that doing a repetitive task can put your brain on autopilot, accidents can and unfortunately do happen.

“Falls are among the most common causes of serious work related injuries and deaths. Employers must set up the work place to prevent employees from falling off of overhead platforms, elevated work stations or into holes in the floor and walls,” says the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

In Canada, the Federal Government tracked 16 workplace fatalities due to falls from height between 2010 and 2014. So now is as good a time as any to share some tips on avoiding workplace slips and falls from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety – which also informs us that 30 per cent of reported workplace falls are from height.

THE SOLUTION

There’s no question that cycle counting is crucial to any major operation with inventory. There’s also no question that the task is dull and carries some inherent risk. In addition to that, human beings make mistakes – particularly when they’ve been carrying out a highly repetitive task over the course of hours.

Cypher Robotics was formed because of those problems. Specifically, to create a solution to them. That solution is Captis.

Captis is an Autonomous Mobile Robot system that can carry out three separate tasks. It can:

• scan warehouse inventory, including at height, on missions up to five hours
• capture RFID tags
• capture 2D and 3D precision scans

And all of this data? It’s seamlessly and securely uploaded into existing Warehouse Management Software (WMS) in real-time, offering decision-makers both instant and accurate data. Bonus: It never gets tired of the task and it can’t get injured.

HOW IT WORKS

When it comes to inventory at height in a warehouse situation, Captis has two components that work seamlessly together. The first is that AMR base. Equipped with high-level compute, multiple sensors and a hefty onboard power supply, it can autonomously explore the warehouse. That includes working its way up and down aisles.

But the real magic here is an aerial component. In this configuration, for warehouse cycle counts, Captis is equipped with what we call a “nest.” Instead of a bird, that nest is occupied by a drone. That drone is linked to the base through a tether – which both provides continuous power for the drone (eliminating the need to come back and recharge after brief flights) and also serves for data transfer back to the base.

As Captis works its way down aisles, the drone ascends to height and scans inventory. It doesn’t matter if the product has bar codes, QR or something else – the system is code-agnostic. As the data reaches the base, it’s wirelessly and securely transmitted to integrate with whatever software platform the company uses for cycle counting. After Captis completes a run down an aisle, the drone ascends (or descends) to the next level of stacked inventory at height and Captis goes back for more data. It will keep running for an entire mission – up to five hours – which we’ve found is long enough to capture inventory in a 100,000 square foot warehouse.

Captis is also up for capturing showroom inventory. The ‘nest’ is replaced with a module for sensing and capturing RFID tags. Once again, Captis will autonomously calculate its way around the space, using Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) until it has covered the entire showroom floor. And once again, all data is uploaded in real-time.

And let’s not forget precision scans. Having an up-to-date picture of a warehouse or showroom can be incredibly useful for planning purposes – and can be used to track construction projects and even produce a full 3D replica of existing facilities in order to plan the build of a new one. It can also be put to use in showroom spaces to help assess and plan for optimised customer flow. The list goes on.

Captis never asks for breaks and doesn’t require any infrastructure changes. And when a mission comes to a close, it doesn’t ask for assistance, either. Sensing that it’s five-hour run is nearly complete, Captis makes its way to a wireless docking station where its batteries are recharged. It’s then ready for its next mission.

Below: Captis on a deployment in a warehouse

REALLY?

We know there’s a lot of hype out there. Does Captis really do everything we say it can?

Absolutely. We have a partnership with a major Canadian retailer and have been deployed in one of its many warehouses for more than a year to complete R&D testing. This has resulted in both cost savings for the retailer – which has been able to quickly identify end-of-stock inventory and get it out the door (among other insights) – and further tweaks to maximise the capabilities and human-robot interaction of Captis. We have even deployed it on a showroom RFID inventory capture while customers were on the floor (they find Captis pretty intriguing, and the AMR is programmed to avoid bumping into even distracted customers).

When we launched Captis, there was a lot of buzz. Many companies within North America were keen to explore this solution – and that interest has spread. Recently, CEO Peter King was invited to New Zealand to present and demo the system by the country’s leading telco provider, Spark. And it wasn’t just to bring the robot – it was to form a partnership. Companies like Spark see not only the utility of the Captis system, but feel it’s a perfect platform to fully exploit and demonstrate the value of private 5G networks.

WHAT ABOUT JOBS?

That’s a good question. Won’t Captis simply displace large numbers of people devoted to cycle counting?

The answer is no. Cycle counting is usually not a full-time task in warehouses. Generally, warehouse staff are assigned to carry out this task in addition to their regular duties. During peak seasons, sometimes additional temporary staff are brought onboard to assist with this repetitive task. Even on short-term contracts, attrition is a common problem.

In the Canadian warehouse where we have been deploying Captis, employees have welcomed the technology – since it frees them up from what was a highly unsatisfying task. No one has complained to us, ever, that they are going to miss carrying out this work.

Below: Cypher Robotics CEO and Founder Peter King doing a demo in New Zealand, followed by an image of the Captis mobile app

THE CYPHER PERSPECTIVE

This is obviously an exciting time for Cypher Robotics. The company has not only fine-tuned the technology over the past year, but has begun forging partnerships at a global level. The high interest in Captis has exceeded our expectations.

“We developed Captis after carefully examining the needs of companies operating at scale with large inventories,” explains Founder and CEO Peter King.

“There was an extensive consultation process before we began working on this solution. Based on our deployment with our flagship Canadian client – whom we look forward to revealing in the near future – we can state with confidence that Captis is the answer to both code and RFID cycle counting, as well as a seamless method of capturing ongoing precision scans.”

Interested in learning more? Reach out to us here.