Fetch bots boast eight cameras for better travel in confined spaces

Mobile robot vendor Fetch Robotics Inc. has updated its medium- and large-capacity robots with extra cameras that allow them to operate with improved efficiency in crowded warehouse environments, company CEO Melonee Wise said in a briefing. The firm's Freight500 and Freight1500 units, named for their payloads in kilograms, now sport eight 3-D cameras apiece, up from the original two, she said.

The added vision helps them illuminate blind spots in corners, avoid difficult obstacles like pallet tines, and travel in more confined spaces while collaborating with human employees under maximum safety rules, she said. The company also showed off its TagSurveyor unit, a mobile robot that uses three sensors to scan radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on racks up to 25 feet high.

For more information, see fetchrobotics.com.