Pocket sorter solutions—where bags or pouches containing light items move along rails from storage locations to pack-out locations—have been around for about seven years. But according to Christoph Wolkerstorker, chief sales officer of automation company TGW Logistics Group, there was one disadvantage to this technology: You had to load and unload the bags manually.

TGW's new OmniPick pocket sorter, which was showcased at ProMat 2019, solves that problem. The solution uses a robotic picker arm with three suction cups at the end to pick up the item and place it into the bag. The system then unloads the bags at the end of the line by automatically opening the bag and tilting it so that the item drops into a bin or onto a conveyor. In this way, it functions much like a tilt-tray sorter.

The OmniPick can handle items that weigh up to 8.5 pounds.

For more information, visit tgw-group.com.