Kiva engineers likely switched to low-pressure aluminum molding with permanent steel tools as production volume increased. They all use the same general purpose 319 alloy and are all post-machined after casting. Three sandcast aluminum parts make up the majority of the body and are joined with simple clevis pins to make a simple, passive double suspension action. This drivetrain setup supports zero radius turns. Flanked on either end are two pairs of dual rollerblade-style 360 degree casters. Here we see the same two motors and gearboxes paired with custom-designed cast Kiva wheels. Once the lifter and electronics have been removed, the bot can be flipped over to get a better look at the drivetrain. On the right: custom cast Kiva wheels likely designed for extreme durability on poured concrete floors. On the left: the underside of our bot, the main logic board is tucked away under that sheet steel panel. Many high-quality aluminum parts are made using the same process (including automotive engine blocks and hydraulic actuators). Each part has a series of secondary machining operations to add referenceable surfaces and threaded holes. All castings are made from the same 319 general purpose alloy. The lifter is topped off by one of several massive aluminum castings that make up the structural components of the robot. This reduces the number of drive components and eliminates complex hydraulic or scissor lift mechanisms. Each robot has three independent axes of motion: two drive wheels and a motor for the “lifter.” As the lifter motor spins, both drive wheels counter-rotate so the lifter appears stationary while the robot spins. The only other major feature is the X-shaped lifter which lifts the shelving pods off the ground. There is also a charging port (the Kiva bots self-dock when charging) and a series of status LEDs to signal the bot’s activity. This is not your granddaddy’s robot.Įach side of the outer shell has an array of IR sensors and a pneumatic bumper for collision detection and avoidance. One tiny collision or a dropped pod can cause many thousands of dollars of damages. The robots may seem simple, but consider this: pods can weigh a thousand pounds, distribution centers have tens of thousands of pods, hundreds of robots, and dozens of pack stations. When it gets to a pod, the bot uses a clever lift mechanism, spinning in place to raise a ball-screw that lifts the pod a few inches off the ground. It slowly traverses the floor reading 2D QR/Datamatrix codes every 40″ and takes commands from it’s brain in the cloud before making any movements. In principle, the Kiva bot is pretty simple. While all these components are amazing in their own right (and necessary for the system to function), this post focuses on the bright orange bots droning around the warehouse floor. And most important of all: a complex and robust software system tying everything together.Herculean orange robots that swiftly lift and move the pods around the floor.An intelligent pack station decked out with scales, lasers, and sensors.A grid of 2D QR codes implanted on the floor (known as “fiducials”).Custom designed Kiva shelves (“pods”) that are mobile and highly flexible.The system Kiva developed comprises on 5 key components: Mick teamed up with Pete Wurman and Raffaello D’Andrea in 2003 to found Kiva Systems to fundamentally change the way people and objects move in a warehouse. Before Kiva, the state of the art time-reducer was a bicycle.Īfter a stint at Webvan, Kiva founder Mick Mountz had a realization: if e-commerce distributors could move shelves to people rather than people to shelves, the pick-pack process would be massively more efficient. This process is expensive, inefficient, and error-prone. Traditional distribution centers for companies like Amazon and Staples are powered by an army of people walking miles a day to pick items off shelves and plop them in a box. I was able to get my hands on an older generation, end-of-life Kiva bot and cracked open its bright orange shell to expose a brilliant piece of engineering this post shares the fruits of Kiva’s hard work. One of these systems was originally built by a Kiva Systems based in the Boston area. Tens of thousands of mobile (ground-based) drones are already in operation and helping deliver your packages today. Meanwhile, the robotic systems powering warehouse distribution centers are an engineering marvel far more elegant than flying drones. Flying delivery drones can make a compelling marketing tool or ultra-premium feature, but their current hype doesn’t mesh with immediate reality. While this is an interesting vision of the future, current economics make this an unlikely substitute for base-load ground delivery for the next 5–10 years. There’s been a lot of talk about package delivery via flying drones.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |