How Automation Is Changing these 3 Industries

For the longest time, automation has been mostly synonymous with manufacturing. But now, with advancements in automation technology, almost every industry is finding a way to leverage solutions like machine vision, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), motion control and more—for the better.

From coping with the rising scarcity of labor and supply chain issues to gaining more visibility and analytics of operational needs, the opportunities are waiting to be unlocked. Just take these three industries that are using automation to pave a new way forward.

1. AUTOMATION IN RETAIL

Customer service means everything in retail. But when employees are overloaded with tasks or shutdowns like from the COVID-19 pandemic, that service can falter. Add an e-commerce boom to the equation, and many retailers are left looking for new or innovative ways to meet demand. With robotic solutions, retailers have the ability to?free human workers from routine tasks ?and let them focus on providing the best customer experience—virtually or in person.

WORKING OVERTIME WITHOUT MISSING A BEAT

According to the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), robot sales are at a record high. While automotive has always been the largest buyer, 2020 revealed how much industries are changing. And in 2021,?non-automotive orders represented 58 percent of total ?robot orders in North America with 6,618 robots ordered in Q4 alone—that’s 61 percent of the total units ordered!

Why such growth? Robots can help take the pressure off retail employees by handling repetitive or dangerous tasks. And even more than that, they can work longer hours without letting accuracy or quality control falter.

BUILDING BETTER WORKFORCES TOGETHER

Labor is a big question mark for retailers. Between balancing skill needs with employee wants, it can be hard to find the right candidate for different roles—especially tedious, dangerous or less challenging tasks. This is where robots come in. They can free up current employees to take on more rewarding or exciting opportunities while keeping all the other tasks chugging along. It doesn’t hurt that?20 percent of young people say ?the chance to work with robotics and AI would be a big draw for them to work for a company.

Retail heavy hitters, like Walmart and Lowe’s, are experimenting with automated solutions like self-checking shelves,?embedded vision ?and picking robots to streamline their floor operations.

And yet the biggest benefit of retail automation is its ability to capture and process even the smallest amount of data. Whether it’s spotting shoplifters or tracking customers’ buying patterns, combining AI with the Internet of Things (IoT) is revolutionizing the ways stores work—and understand their customers.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

There’s no one automation solution for every retailer, but there is one common goal. An amazing customer experience is a must for any business in the retail industry and customer service can play a big role in that experience. While many may still feel like human interaction is essential, the truth is that automation can be a perfect complement to humans. Take the?Amazon Go ?stores that are completely automated to allow for quicker, smarter and socially distanced “grab and go” shopping. However, you can always have people on the floor to assist as needed!

GROCERY STORES AND SUPERMARKETS

Robotic solutions aren’t limited to big retail stores either. In fact, a growing number of grocery stores and supermarkets are benefiting from employing autonomous robots.

Friendly-looking,?multi-purpose droids like Marty the Robot ?can roam grocery stores greeting customers, cleaning up spills and keeping shelves stocked. At the same time, heavy-duty robots can work in the storeroom unloading trucks and storing goods before they’re sent out to the store floor.

RETAIL WAREHOUSES AND FULFILLMENT

It’s no secret that e-commerce is booming. Whether retailers juggle physical and digital storefronts or only rely on the web, it’s never been more important to ensure your?warehouses and distribution centers ?can meet the demand. Thankfully, automation has helped many companies pick, pack and ship goods at expedited speeds—without sacrificing quality or safety.

Vision-enabled robots aren’t anything new, enabling the choice between one part or another. Today’s picking robots can be seamlessly integrated with full 3D vision with low noise, high-resolution cameras to detect shape, size, reflectivity, and color. This capability drastically improves the reliability of tasks like bin sorting and quality control within retail environments.

?2. AUTOMATION IN LOGISTICS

CONNECTED WAREHOUSES

Warehouses have always stressed connectivity. However, the development of 5G and IoT has raised the bar to another level.

The proliferation of IoT warehouse devices (like?Industrial PC’s embedded computers ) on machines, products, facilities and even people is effectively making warehouse aisles transparent.

Using a tablet or a cellphone, managers can track the whereabouts of every product, package and pallet that is either in the warehouse or in transit.

Furthermore, the rise in connectivity also allows outside stakeholders like sales, distribution, management or suppliers to stay plugged into the customer relationship management (CRM) systems. The software then gives them accurate, real-time information about inventory and orders anytime, anywhere.

MACHINE-WORKER INTEGRATION

For logistics companies facing a labor crunch, robots?that work alongside people to complete tasks together may be the?answer to increasing productivity .?

At least 73 percent of employers see a mixed human-robot workforce as the ideal solution—and for good reasons too. While robots like?ABB’s double-armed YuMi ?can work faster, longer and with greater precision, a human’s critical thinking skills and ingenuity are still unmatched.

By taking over the most repetitive, physically demanding tasks, robotics can help save employees from burnout. This has been proven in warehouses where automation has kept employee turnover rates below the 36 percent standard measured by the?Bureau of Labor Statistics .

AI-POWERED AUTOMATION

Finding better ways of improving processes is an endless concern for modern managers. But luckily, AI is here to help.

Intelligent automation is a growing trend? that builds on AI’s data-processing capabilities to enhance manufacturing and storing processes. By using intelligent automation, both factories and warehouses alike can streamline their workflows and free up resources that are needed elsewhere.

DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS

With consumer demand at an all-time high, companies are prioritizing digital technologies to help them build a complete picture of everything that is happening or developing in their companies. Think big data, AI, IoT and cloud services.

For warehouses, the cornerstone of this new way of planning in real-time is represented by the warehouse execution system (WES). By compiling and analyzing their data with AI, logistical centers can use WES software to make last-minute decisions about their inventory, orders and workflows with a high level of precision—and confidence.

?3. AUTOMATION IN SECURITY

Automation comes into play for security purposes in two key ways: physical security (monitoring locations for trespassing, theft, etc.) and cyber security.?

PHYSICAL SECURITY

Drones are being used as security guards, particularly in the warehousing, logistics and construction segments. They can either continually patrol an area to deter crime, or be triggered to deploy, within minutes, to the scene of a breach.?

Armed with embedded vision systems, thermal imaging and sophisticated sensors,?security and surveillance systems ?can scan a premise for possible threats like fire hazards or spills, detect movements or intruders, and even know if the doors are locked.

Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and legged bots with vision systems can also be used as roving security bots. In fact, the?military and law enforcement have been using mobile robotics ?for patrols, exploring dangerous environments and gathering intel for decades—with new advancements continuing to unlock new possibilities.

CYBER SECURITY

Automation can be a double-edged sword. Cloud-based systems and IoT, for example, enable more powerful automation because they fuel AI applications that allow systems to become smarter and more capable with less human intervention; not to mention the valuable insights they feed, in real-time, to the businesses that deploy them. But the very systems that can leverage this tech to increase digital security (monitoring activity and alerting businesses to a variety of suspicious behavior within their operations) can also open the door for cyber attacks. Thanks in large part to the pandemic forcing more remote work, cyberattacks in the U.S.?doubled in 2020 , costing businesses 4.2 billion.?

Fortunately, there are many ways automation users can reap the benefits of automated security measures while still keeping themselves safe from outside threats. A new trend in the automation world centers around blockchain technology (a digital ledger shared across a participating network). Unlike traditional data storage, the blockchain allows each transaction to be stored as a block which is approved and then linked chronologically with the transactions made before and after it. Proponents believe it can help boost the power of predictive analytics, data transfer and management, and inventory/shipment tracking, while also enhancing security/reducing fraud.?

Another way to enable automation while keeping a wall around your data is to use edge-computing platforms as an alternative to cloud-based systems. Edge computing is defined as a network configuration that keeps data storage and analysis closer to the sources of data. This not only keeps data more secure (since it is confined to on-premise networks that are largely inaccessible to outside parties) but also is preferable for applications that require lightning-fast response times or have connectivity issues; to react to a serious and immediate production line issue or for remote field environments, for example.

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