GROW (DUS.AD016.145)

Thematic area

Social sciences and humanities, cultural heritage

Project area

Structure responsible for the research project

Institute of cognitive sciences and technologies (ISTC)

Project manager

GIANLUCA BALDASSARRE
Phone number: 0644595231
Email: gianluca.baldassarre@istc.cnr.it

Abstract

The current boom in e-commerce is challenging the logistics industry because shipment volumes are growing rapidly and online
retail typically requires more logistical work per item compared to traditional brick and mortar retail. Manual picking is currently
preferred when the number and variety of objects increases because automation becomes increasingly challenging. The specific
need addressed in the project is the robot-based automatic collection of sets of small objects in weakly-engineered warehouses.

Goals

The goal of the project is the realisation of the innovation potential of the GOAL-Robots FET project
technology applied to industry-relevant warehouse environments. In particular, the project will show that the "open-ended
autonomous learning" technology developed within the GOAL-Robots project allows the creation of general-purpose robots for
object-retrieval capable of autonomously learning to reach, grasp, and collect a large variety of objects, independently of their
shape, rigidity, position, and orientation on shelves. This technological transfer will be achieved through three objectives: (a) the
implementation of a demonstrator to show the potential of the technology to the target stakeholders; (b) the technology
assessment of the GROW solution involving relevant stakeholders and partners for technology transfer, validating the innovation
and its commercial viability; (c) the development of the business case and plan, the dissemination of the solution, and the
preparation of communication material to reach potential stakeholders and support the implementation of an effective marketing
strategy.

Start date of activity

01/09/2021

Keywords

Autonomous robot, artificial intelligence, warehouse logistics

Last update: 19/04/2024