Arendai CEO Discusses 5G and Edge Computing Benefits for Warehouse Automation in RCR Wireless Webinar
Arendai CEO Dr. Walter J. Buga joined Renu Navale, Vice President in the Network and Edge Group and General Manager of the Edge Platforms Division at Intel Corporation, to discuss how 5G and edge computing are revolutionizing warehouse automation during the 5G Manufacturing Forum hosted by RCR Wireless News.
The webinar highlighted that the warehouse automation market is forecast to reach $27 billion by 2025, with more than 4 million robots operating and about 50,000 automated distribution warehouses expected by that time. This represents a significant opportunity for autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) in the industry ecosystem.
5G and Edge Computing: Enabling Warehouse Automation
During the presentation, Navale emphasized that the Industry 4.0 concept is driving the popularity of private 5G networks, which are being increasingly adopted in the manufacturing and logistics space due to the lower costs of spectrum. She noted that “a number of the use cases from Industry 4.0, around smart manufacturing, logistics, warehouse automation energies and utilities, smart grids, defect detection represent more than 60% of our use cases for private 5G.”
The Intel executive highlighted that 5G sets a new paradigm for AMRs by driving distributed compute efficiencies with its ultra-reliable low latency communications and high bandwidth capabilities. “There’s a very nice cycle where edge computing is becoming more available and more popular. And this is driving down the costs of AMRs, because compute is more available closer to the source of the data being generated from the AMRs,” she explained.
Arendai’s Harmony Solution
Dr. Buga shared insights on Arendai’s approach to warehouse automation, noting that 80% of warehouses are not automated and many existing solutions work in silos. He introduced Arendai’s Harmony 1.0, a software solution for the automation of logistics and warehouse operations that:
- Enables management of AMRs from different vendors
- Introduces expanded AI capabilities to AMRs using edge computing
- Implements digital twin for predictive maintenance and operations optimization
- Creates a safe environment for AMRs and humans collaboration
The Harmony solution uses the Intel Edge Insights for Autonomous Mobile Robots on the AMR platforms and Intel Smart Edge on the edge platforms for deploying edge computing applications and global management and orchestration services for AMRs.
Distributed Computing Architecture
A key point discussed during the webinar was the distributed computing architecture that enables efficient AMR operations. Navale explained that some tasks can be located on the AMRs themselves, while others can be offloaded to edge servers, and some can go to the data center or cloud.
Tasks that can be located on the AMRs include sensor ingestion, path planning and localization, obstacle avoidance, motor control, functional safety, and navigation. Meanwhile, tasks that can be offloaded to the edge server include remote interference, fleet management, mission management, battery management, traffic management, and analytics.