Augmented Reality is revolutionizing the way logistics companies do business. AR can transform the logistics industry from tracking shipments to providing real-time updates. By leveraging AR’s power, logistics companies can now increase efficiency and improve customer experiences. AR is a technology that superimposes digital information onto a user’s view of the real world. It differs from Virtual Reality (VR), which completely immerses the user in a computer-generated environment. AR can be experienced through various devices and applications, including smartphones, tablets, cameras, and wearable devices. It can be used to create immersive, interactive experiences that allow users to interact with virtual objects in the real world. For example, an AR app on a smartphone might display navigation directions, highlight points of interest in a city, or provide information about a museum exhibit
Augmented reality has the potential to revolutionize the logistics industry. By merging the digital and physical worlds. AR enables logistics operations to gain real-time insight into their operation, boosting efficiency and accuracy. With AR technology, managers and staff wear augmented reality glasses to view the warehouse layout and check if any changes or experiments are possible. This is a great tool for getting comprehensive information and making decisions about any inventory changes or improvements. Logistics companies can save a lot of time, money, and effort when planning and re-planning warehouses.
Warehouse picking based on AR vision is a hands-free technology that helps to provide quality control with error-free vision. AR system with visual recognition will help to identify and confirm the product. Once the pick is complete, automation takes up and updates the entire system and logs the activity. Recently, parcel giant DHL announced the expansion of the augmented reality pilot program “Vision Picking” for its global distribution centers. The program is based on the idea of using augmented reality glass to show DHL employees where picked packages should be placed on the company’s trolleys. DHL claims Vision Picking will enable hands-free order picking at a faster pace, along with reduced error rates.
DHL Supply Chain is the world’s leading logistics company, with around 185,000 employees in over 50 countries, offering a wide range of logistics operations to their customers. Previously used technologies had complex user interfaces with various menus and information. This resulted in more resources spent on quality assurance procedures. Moreover, these solutions typically require days or weeks of training when onboarding. DHL needed a new solution that allowed the company to react to market changes quickly, deploy staff flexibly, and mitigate many other challenges:
- Increasing order volume in the logistics sector calls for constant process optimization
- Rising order fulfillment complexity, fluctuating market needs, and labor shortages
- Existing methods such as handhelds were complex and harder to learn
DHL adopted a visual warehouse picking system, xPick. The warehouse employees can utilize smart glasses equipped with vision-picking software to provide visual cues throughout the picking process. For real-time data access, the Frontline solution is seamlessly integrated with DHL’s warehouse management system, establishing a process that is fully connected end-to-end. The workers can see the correct aisle number, shelf, and bin to pick an item from and where to place it. Employees then receive instant audio and visual feedback if they pick the correct item. Moreover, new joiners can get onboard quickly with easy-to-understand, visually displayed information that is adjustable to the worker’s preferred language. As a result, new employees are productive right from the start.
After deploying the AR warehouse picking system, DHL has enjoyed a 15% productivity increase, with error rates reduced to 0.1%, and 50 – 70% time saving while onboarding. Currently, about 1,500 operators are equipped with smart glasses in DHL’s US sites alone, for order fulfillment at DHL warehouses spanning technology, retail, consumer, and automotive industries. With the vision picking technology, DHL pickers are now able to work hands-free, making their job more efficient and ergonomic. The solution reduces time spent per order and picking errors as operators see instructions displayed in front of their eyes along with instant audio feedback. Working hands-free increased employee productivity. While previous solutions required days or weeks of training and experienced staff for the guidance of the new employees, the VR warehouse picking system reduced onboarding time to hours.
Article by: Asst. Prof. Suwan Juntiwasarakij, Ph.D., Senior Editor & MEGA Tech