Automation has revolutionised numerous industries, and the material handling sector is no exception. Each week Forkliftaction reports on the biggest stories in materials handling automation including latest products and technologies, market uptake and strategic partnerships. Get up to date with this roundup of our latest automation coverage.

In September - AutoStore founders Jakob Hatteland and Ingvar Hognaland to be inducted into the Logistics Hall of Fame for “one of the most important inventions in modern logistics”.

Osaro and Fanuc, collaborate to apply machine-learning technology to identify and pick objects in warehousing and e-commerce fulfillment environments.

Family-owned Swiss materials flow systems company Ferag AG to acquire Australian warehouse automation software company dereOida.

OTTO Motors has showcases its new heavy-duty autonomous mobile robots (AMR) for tight spaces at Pack Expo in Las Vegas. 

Automated storage, retrieval and material handling systems provider Kardex can now offer Tompkins Robotics’ tSort parcel sortation systems as well as Autostore technology.

Intelligent robotics company Mujin secures USD85 million in Series C funding to continue developing its controller platform for manufacturing, logistics and supply chain robots.

Robots can be viewed as a recruitment tool by small and medium-sized enterprises says Dr Susanne Bieller general secretary of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).

In August - An audit of the use of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) by the United States Postal Service finds the equipment is being underutilised and therefore not delivering expected cost savings of USD105 million.

Numina Group is working with Orgill to design a world-class automated warehouse and provide a scalable high-performance warehouse automation solution to support their business growth.

Innovation with a strong focus on automation, was on show at the iVT Off-Highway Vehicle Technology Conference and Expo in Chicago. Over 100 exhibitors attended the event, showcasing new industrial vehicle components, materials, and concepts.

Seaports around the world are forecast to deploy more than 370,000 automated guided vehicles (AGVs) by 2027 to overcome congestion.

LocusBots is deployed for the first time in the Asia Pacific region by DHL Supply Chain for its medical device customers Cardinal Health and Terumo. 

Arauca orders 100 Cyngn DriveMod autonomous electric forklifts in in keeping with their commitment to a safe, zero-injury and optimised work environment. The forklifts will be hitting the market in 2024.

Automation was strongly represented at the CeMAT show in Australia, with the major integrators and manufacturers showing off a range of solutions, with a particular focus on item-picking.

In July - Volvo Construction Equipment introduces electric forklifts and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) at its Changwon facility in South Korea as part its commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

CEVA adds Exotec robots to its Dutch warehouses. The new automation system is scalable, allowing for the addition of more robots, pick stations or totes.

Rocsys secures funding for autonomous charging tech. The Rocsys system can be used for consumer and fleet vehicles, including port equipment and industrial and heavy-duty applications.

Spanish robot-maker Kivnon celebrates the manufacture and installation of its 5,000th industrial mobile robot in France.

APM Terminals receives two additional ZPMC automated straddle carriers as part of a pilot project. Blue Bot, the original prototype, was installed at the facility in 2022.

Greek postal service Hellenic Post increases its autonomous mobile robot fleet. The fleet of 120 LiBiao AMRs can work three times faster than the manual system they operated in the past.

And from the blogs… Do you want to know how autonomous robots are managed? With the right mission and fleet management system in place they can not only move loads from point A to B but also interact seamlessly with equipment, site software, other vehicles and pedestrians.

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