Drones have captivated our imagination in various ways, from being recreational toys to military weapons. Meanwhile, prominent corporations like Amazon and Walmart are already experimenting with using drones to deliver products to customers. However, their potential goes far beyond these realms, as they have also found invaluable applications in the dynamic and demanding environment of the modern warehouse. Through the integration of cutting-edge sensors, high-resolution cameras, and advanced processing equipment, drones are proving to be essential allies in the quest for increased efficiency and enhanced productivity within warehouse operations.
Drones and the modern warehouse
What unifies all warehouses is their shared characteristics of being vast, bustling, and frequently crowded. Today’s warehouses are bigger and more complex than ever. As the demand for e-commerce products skyrockets, the average size of a warehouse has ballooned to accommodate consumer preferences. The typical warehouse is around 50,000 square feet, with some extending to as big as 4 million square feet. Warehouses have grown up as well as out. Some have implemented mezzanines that use their vertical space, and others have narrow aisles to maximize shelving.
Given this busy and complex environment, there may initially be some concern about using drones in the warehouse. After all, we’ve all seen toy drones that end up in a neighbor’s tree. So, will warehouse drones get lost in the storage racks or, worse, crash into workers below? Ideally not. Like autonomous mobile vehicles (AMVs), these more sophisticated drones are equipped with navigation technology that allows the unit to avoid obstacles. These small, but mighty machines are capable of autonomous navigation, allowing them to move efficiently within a warehouse without the need for constant human intervention. Drones can also save time by quickly flying across a large warehouse or up to hard-to-reach spaces to find specific products. In this way, they can reduce the amount of time employees spend walking across a warehouse floor or searching for items. Humans no longer would have to climb tall ladders to inspect products and risk injuries. Instead, they can stay safely on the ground and review data collected by a drone. Furthermore, drones can be equipped with sophisticated sensors, cameras, and readers to detect RFID tags and barcodes as well as temperature, possible safety concerns, and any unusual activity. In addition, software algorithms can be used to deliver the insights that make these solutions useful for businesses.
Four use cases
As a result of this level of sophistication, there are many compelling use cases for drones in the warehouse. Below are four main ways drones are already being used to support the warehouse industry.
1. Inventory management: Proper inventory management is critical in the warehouse industry. It is the process of accounting for, ordering, and organizing product stocks to ensure items on hand are in good shape (that is, not damaged or expired) and of sufficient quantity to fulfill anticipated needs. However, manual inventory control can be prone to human error and costly in terms of labor and potential mistakes.
Instead of having workers go around the warehouse counting items and scanning barcodes by hand, drones can perform stocktaking, inventory audits, and cycle counting more efficiently and more accurately. Equipped with an RFID scanner, a drone is capable of wirelessly reading the information on the RFID tags attached to warehouse inventory. This allows drones to count, record, and relay RFID data en masse. Drones can confirm the correct items are where they should be, keep track of stock levels, and search for items that are listed as out of stock or missing.
Drones can also be used for item searches. Searching for products during the picking process is one of the most time-consuming and costly activities in a warehouse. A drone camera can perform these searches seamlessly and report back to human workers.
2. Inspections: Any business environment that gets constant use, such as a warehouse, will also be prone to frequent wear and tear. A broken shelf, dislocated stair rail, or cracked flooring can create a serious safety hazard. A damaged piece of equipment can stall operations and cost the company time and money.
Traditionally, detailed inspections in the warehouse would be done in person, with a manager walking through the aisles examining key equipment, racks, floors, walls, and ceilings. Drones can automate and speed up the inspection process. For example, a drone can fly through the warehouse to capture visual data for managers to review later. Even better, artificial intelligence (AI) solutions can take an initial pass at that data and identify potential areas of concern in real time. In this way, drones can alert management of serious safety hazards, helping them to avoid machinery breakdowns or serious accidents on the warehouse floor while also freeing them up to perform more value-added activities.
3. Indoor intralogistics: Warehouses are busy facilities where smaller items are constantly being moved and relocated from one area to another. Drones can assist with these intralogistics tasks. Even though most drones are used for tracking inventory and are only equipped with a camera, some drones can include mechanical grippers (similar to robotic arms), magnetic grippers, vacuum systems, claw or clamp mechanisms, or a payload release system. As drone technology continues to evolve, human workers will still need to load and assist products onto drones, but once the item is loaded, a drone can fly autonomously through a warehouse without the need for human navigation. For example, a drone can transport a machine part to the area of the warehouse where a repair is taking place. Drones can also move small products for fulfillment activities. To be sure, the gripping, payload, and navigation capabilities of today’s drones remain limited, but these applications are certain to expand in the future.
4. Surveillance and security: As mentioned earlier, warehouses can be massive buildings. Many of them are full of expensive equipment and products, making them attractive targets for thieves. Having security measures in place is essential. Fortunately, drones can fly through a warehouse 24/7 and provide a live feed for security staff to watch from a central location. Alternatively, AI-enabled software can analyze the video footage produced by a drone to alert owners of any unusual activity.
Leveraging the power of drones
The field of warehousing offers significant potential for the integration of new technological solutions, which can enhance efficiency and provide a competitive edge to businesses. The implementation of drone technology in warehouses offers several key benefits. Not only can drones perform repetitive, time-consuming tasks, like inventory counting and inspections, faster and more accurately than humans, they also can take dangerous tasks off workers’ shoulders. Instead of having employees conduct inspections in potentially dangerous areas, drones can be used. Drones also can be used to reach products on high shelves, so workers don’t have to make the climb.
By leveraging the power of these aerial devices and other automation tools, warehouses can optimize processes across multiple facets of operations, ultimately elevating their overall performance and results.
