Two cranes streak back and forth down the same aisle, swooping up to pick up a box from a high storage location before speeding away again. This ability to have two cranes operate in the same aisle at the same time without interfering with one another is the key factor that differentiates the Duosys mini-load automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) from other mini-load AS/RS models in the marketplace, the company says. Traditionally, AS/RS just have one crane.

Duosys was shown for the first time in the United States today at the ProMat 2013 trade show in Chicago.

The two cranes—plus the fact that the system has one of the fastest acceleration and deceleration times in the industry—allow the Duosys to operate more than four times as fast as similar systems, according to Robert Schmitt, executive vice president of Daifuku Webb, maker of the Duosys.

Having two cranes for one aisle also allows companies to continue operating in the aisle while one of the cranes is being maintained or repaired.

The system features regenerative braking. As one crane decelerates, the system can take that energy and use it to accelerate the other one.

Multiple systems can be stacked on top of one another, and customers can deactivate one or more cranes when utilization is low.