While the popular household helper succumbs to its fear of heights at the first step of the stairs, the Skypod robot uses its side arms. Skypod robots climb up to 12 meters up the shelves, pick up small load carriers or bring them back. Then back down again, off they go to the packing station, where an order picker takes the ordered goods from the box and sends the robot back so that it can put the small load carrier back on the shelf. At a speed of 4 meters per second, the robots shoulder small load carriers weighing up to 30 kilograms.
Core business logistics

"The fact that robots can move horizontally is no longer a sensation for most people," says Markus Schlotter, Managing Director Exotec Central Europe. "But people are impressed by the fact that they can climb under their own power." The autonomous Skypod robots were already scurrying around the Exotec stand at LogiMAT. On the one hand, Schlotter is delighted with the attention his freeclimbers are receiving. But sometimes he also ponders: "Hopefully people don't just see the artistry, but the benefits that the Skypod system brings as a whole." Then he laughs: "After all, our core business is logistics, not the circus."

The Skypod system is now used in more than 100 order picking warehouses worldwide by companies in all kinds of industries: online retail, pharmaceuticals, automotive suppliers, 3PL, to name but a few. The Skypod system is of particular economic interest for logistics systems with 3,000 storage locations and 250 or more picking orders per hour. There are no upper limits to the system size: a clothing specialist in Japan operates an Exotec warehouse that achieves 12,000 picking orders per hour.

Short-term reinforcement with additional Skypod robots

At the heart of the system are the vertically and horizontally agile Skypod robots. Depending on size and order volume, most Exotec warehouses use 50 to 100 of them, sometimes significantly more. As a rule of thumb, 35 robots should be planned for every 1,000 order lines per hour. The number of robots in the warehouse is flexible. At peak times, 10 or 20 percent more Skypod robots can quickly reinforce the mobile team. The replacement machines are integrated into ongoing operations within a few minutes. Warehouses that do not have an extra pool of Skypod robots can also rent the robots to flexibly absorb seasonal fluctuations in operations.

Conveyor system: Quick assembly thanks to pre-wired conveyor elements

To complement its robot fleet, Exotec added the Skypath conveyor system to the Skypod system in 2023. The setup is plug and play. Conveyor elements, such as straight lines, curves or ejectors, are plugged into each other like on a model railroad. The elements are available in different heights from 280 to 1,500 millimeters. Constructions with several levels can be up to 4.50 meters high. The layout of the conveyor system is quickly created using drag-and-drop 3D layout design.

The components are delivered ready for operation from the warehouse; programming on site is not required. Cables, sensors and light barriers are pre-installed at the factory. According to the supplier, 200 working hours are normally enough to complete the installation of 500 meters of conveyor system. The racking system for the small load carriers also follows the principle of simple scalability. As long as there is still space available in the warehouse, additional rows of racks can be installed without disrupting or even interrupting ongoing picking processes.

Exotec uses its Deepsky software to control the Skypod system. Among other things, it calculates the routes and coordinates the travel paths of the warehouse robots so that they always use the shortest route. Deepsky also controls external automation elements such as carton erectors and labeling systems.

Parceled boxes made from recycled plastic

Exotec also supplies the containers and trays made from recycled plastic. The tray option offers the advantage that the contents of many cartons do not have to be distributed among plastic boxes in the incoming goods department. Instead, the supplier's boxes are simply opened and then taken directly to the warehouse. The boxes are available in three heights (220, 320 and 420 mm). Removable partitions divide the containers into two, three, four, six or eight plots, depending on individual requirements.

At the packing stations, warehouse employees take over the rest of the picking process. To do this, the Skypod robots approach the people via a ramp. They do not need to bend down to remove the goods from the small load carriers. To increase the efficiency of the pickers, many warehouses equip the packing stations with order movers. A conveyor system delivers empty shipping cartons and the pickers fill up to four at a time. As soon as an order is completed, the carton is transported onwards and later - depending on the warehouse equipment - automatically weighed and sealed. The Order Mover immediately refills the empty space. This means that picking processes do not come to a standstill, even when the warehouse is busy for seasonal reasons.