Inbound mail and packages. Interoffice deliveries. Warehouse management. Material movement on the production floor. Inventory control.
Intralogistics impact every organization. Because these aren’t revenue-generating activities, they are often overlooked, even ignored, by senior leadership. However, they are excellent opportunities for investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and robots.
In the 1980s and 1990s, corporations and government agencies acquired delivery robots, the most successful being the Bell & Howell “Mailmobile” (invented by Learjet). The 600-pound systems followed chemical, magnetic or laser-guided pathways to route its way through the office. Warehouses used similar, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to move material. Both types of systems were challenged when anything, or anyone, was blocking the delivery path.
The successors to these systems are known as AMRs - Autonomous Mobile Robots. The systems use trackless navigation through LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), cameras, and VSLAM (Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). When encountering a roadblock, the system uses AI to adapt, access floor layout diagrams, and create a new path to the intended destination.
With a burst of new manufacturers, a new challenge arose – compatibility of systems from different companies. The solution was found through adopting “VDA 5050 standards” for electronic data interchange (EDI). Developed by the German automotive industry, VDA 5050 establishes a unified protocol for data communication in supply chains. (NOTE: VDA stands for “Verband der Automobilindustrie”, which is German for the “Automotive Industry Association”.)
AI-driven delivery robots have the capacity to integrate with enterprise software, including receiving, inventory management, and procurement. Intralogistics is an opportunity waiting to be discovered.
Amazing Astronomical Fact: As night follows day, a lunar eclipse follows a solar eclipse. Two weeks after the total solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse was visible across most of the world. Taking place in the late evening/early morning hours of August 27-28, 2026, a deep, partial lunar eclipse covered about 96% of the moon’s disc.
The eclipse is caused by the Moon passing into the Earth’s shadow. Instead of going completely black, the moon is lit by the Sun’s light passing through the edge of the Earth's atmosphere. Blue and green wavelengths of light are scattered by the atmosphere, but red and orange wavelengths pass through.
Depending upon location and atmospheric conditions, the moon may appear gray, pink, orange or red.
#artificialintelligence #ai #intralogistics #robots #amr #lunareclipse #theberkshirecompany
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