Raws li kev sib tw rau Automate Warehouses Heats Up, RightHand Robotics nce $ 66 lab

Warehouse automation tau dhau los ua qhov chaw kub rau cov tub ua lag luam raws li cov neeg siv khoom tau txav mus rau hauv online, cov saw hlau snarled thiab cov neeg ua haujlwm nyuaj nrhiav. Case nyob rau hauv taw tes: RightHand Robotics, uas muaj piece-xaiv thev naus laus zis los ua kom tiav cov lus txib, qhia Forbes tias nws tau nce $ 66 lab los txhawb nws cov khoom tsim kho thiab nthuav dav thoob ntiaj teb.

Cov nyiaj tshiab, coj los ntawm Safar Partners, Thomas H. Lee Partners thiab SoftBank Vision Fund, coj tag nrho cov peev hauv Somerville, Mass.-raws li RightHand rau $ 99 lab thiab thawb nws cov nqi mus rau $ 240 lab. "Peb tsis cia siab tias yuav muaj txoj hauv kev thiab kev loj hlob ntawm kev lag luam," RightHand CEO Yaro Tenzer hais. "Thaum peb pib, tib neeg zoo li, 'Yog lawm, yav tom ntej.'"

Lub neej yav tom ntej, txawm li cas los xij, nyob ntawm no. Kev xaiv ib qho yog $ 30 nphom kev lag luam thoob ntiaj teb, nrog kev xaiv cov khoom tuaj yeem sawv cev qee qhov $ 2.5 billion txog $ 3 billion ntawm qhov ntawd, hais tias Thomas H. Lee tus thawj coj Mike Kaczmarek. Lub tuam txhab ntiag tug-equity muaj $ 900 lab nyiaj automation, thiab Kaczmarek tau saib ntawm lub khw muag khoom thaum nws thawj zaug ntsib Tenzer thiab nws pab neeg plaub xyoos dhau los dhau pizza thiab npias. Lawv nyob sib cuag. "Yaro yog ib tus neeg ua lag luam muaj peev xwm heev," nws hais. "Cov neeg yuav khiav ntawm phab ntsa rau tus txiv neej."

Tenzer, 43, tau yug los nyob rau hauv lub tebchaws Soviet Union thiab tsiv mus rau Ixayees thaum nws tseem yog menyuam yaus nrog nws niam nws txiv. Tom qab kawm mechanical engineering thiab mechatronics ntawm Ben Gurion University, nws tau txais nws Ph.D. los ntawm Imperial College London qhov chaw uas nws tsom mus rau kev phais neeg hlau. Tsis ntev nws tau hu xovtooj los ntawm Harvard, thiab tau tsiv mus rau Tebchaws Meskas los ua tus kws kho mob tom qab ntawm Harvard Biorobotics Lab.

Thaum nyob ntawd, nws thiab lwm tus kws tshawb fawb neeg hlau Leif Jentoft thiab Lael Odhner yeej qhov kev sib tw los ntawm Lub Chaw Haujlwm Saib Xyuas Kev Tshawb Fawb Txog Kev Tshawb Fawb, lossis Darpa, rau lawv cov neeg hlau gripper uas nws tsim ua raws li biomechanics ntawm tib neeg txhais tes.

Nyob rau hauv 2015, lub trio nrhiav tau RightHand Robotics los tsim cov grippers rau warehouse automation, ib tug loj thiab burgeoning teb. Automation raug tshem tawm tom qab ntawd raws li caj npab robotic, koob yees duab thiab sensors tau zoo dua thiab pheej yig dua; tus nqi ntawm kev suav thiab cov ntaub ntawv kuj tau poob. Tom qab ntawd, ib yam nkaus, Amazon tau txais Kiva hauv xyoo 2012 tau ua rau qee yam ntawm kev sib tw caj npab los txhim kho cov neeg hlau zoo dua thiab muaj txiaj ntsig zoo uas tuaj yeem ua rau muaj kev cuam tshuam ntawm kev lag luam hauv warehouses raws li kev lag luam e-lag luam tawg.

Warehouse piece- picking yog ib txoj haujlwm nyuaj rau cov neeg hlau. RightHand qhov kom zoo dua: Nws pab neeg nrhiav tau yeej qhov kev sib tw Darpa nrog nws cov neeg hlau gripper.

Tenzer xav tias nws thiab nws cov cofounders tuaj yeem daws cov teeb meem nyuaj ntawm kev tuav thiab xaiv. “Peb yog pab pawg uas yeej qhov kev sib tw Darpa manipulation. Peb paub dab tsi manipulation yog hais txog, "nws hais. "Nws yog ib qho kev sib tw nyuaj heev."

Qhov kev sib tw, Tenzer hais tias, tsis yog tsuas yog txav cov khoom, tab sis ua kom raug ntau dua thiab nrawm dua. “Koj tsis xav ua lub fwj hauv lub tsev rau khoom. Yog li yog tias koj xav txog kev xaiv 1,000 xaiv ib teev lossis siab dua, tag nrho lub voj voog yuav tsum yog 3.6 vib nas this, "nws hais. “Peb tuaj yeem mus sai dua. Nws yog qhov txaus nyiam pom. "

Tom qab ob xyoos ntawm kev tshawb fawb los kho cov gripper thiab ua ke nrog lub computer tsis pom kev thiab kev txawj ntse txawj ntse rau cov khoom siv tau zoo, lawv tau pib ua lawv cov khoom thawj zaug hauv 2017. Peb xyoos tom qab, Safar, Cambridge, Mass.-based venture venture firmed majorly on spinouts los ntawm Harvard thiab MIT, nqis peev $ 2 lab. "Peb tau mus rau hauv qab daus thiab pom cov kev ua haujlwm sab hauv, tsis yog cov neeg ua yeeb yam uas lawv muaj nyob rau sab saud, thiab xav tias, 'Wow, qhov no yog ib yam uas ua haujlwm tiag tiag," "Safar tus thawj coj Arunas Chesonis hais. 

Niaj hnub no, RightHand Robotics muag nws cov tshuab rau tus nqi ib txwm ntawm $ 150,000, ntxiv rau cov nqi software rov ua dua. Cov nyiaj tau los tam sim no nyob rau hauv ib tus lej lab, Tenzer hais tias, thiab lub tuam txhab cia siab tias yuav hla $ 10 lab cim rau xyoo no. Nws cov neeg siv khoom suav nrog Japanese wholesaler Paltec thiab lub khw muag tshuaj online APO.com Group hauv Netherlands. Nrog cov nyiaj tshiab, RightHand tab tom nrhiav kom tau txais cov neeg siv khoom ntau dua, kev lag luam rau cov neeg koom ua ke uas pab tsim cov tsev khaws khoom thiab rau cov neeg muaj peev xwm ncaj qha.

Lub sijhawm ntev dua, Chesonis hais tias, nws suav tias RightHand yuav txav mus rau thaj chaw uas nyob ib sab mus xaiv -tej zaum ua kom tau txais kev lag luam me me pib ua haujlwm raws li qhov chaw loj hlob thaum kawg sib sau ua ke. Nws hais tias, "Kuv tsis xav tias lawv tsuas yog ua los xaiv mus ib txhis," nws hais. "Yog hais tias lawv yog ib lub tuam txhab uas tsis tau txais nyob rau hauv ob peb xyoos tom ntej no, thiab dhau los ua ib lub koom haum pej xeem, yuav muaj ntau txoj hauv kev loj hlob los ntawm kev sib koom ua ke hauv cov ntawv thov lossis thaj chaw uas nyob ib sab."

Yog xav paub ntxiv ntawm warehouse robotics, saib peb qhov tshwj xeeb ntawm Rick Cohen's Symbotic ("Nyob Raws Li Tus Neeg Hlau Ntsig Tshaj Lij Tshaj Lij Tshaj Lij Tshaj Tawm Txog Walmart's Warehouses," Kaum Ob Hlis 13, 2021)