ForwardX Robotics, a provider of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for warehouses, has teamed up with cosmetics giant L’Oréal to launch what they claim is the world’s first case-picking solution featuring AMRs integrated with an automatic weighing system.

According to ForwardX, this system enhances operational efficiency and reduces manual picking errors. The system is currently operational in L’Oréal’s first Smart Fulfillment Center worldwide, located in Suzhou, China.

Specifically, the Smart Fulfillment Center has deployed 43 of ForwardX Robotics’s customized Max 600-L AMRs, which perform case picking and distribution.

To achieve accurate picking, ForwardX designed Max AMRs equipped with automatic weighing systems that quickly verifies picked items’ weights against expected values. The system will then display pop-up notifications on the interface screen to alert workers if any case exceeds or falls short of the total weight by a specified calculated amount, thereby indicating deviations beyond the acceptable error margin.

ForwardX’s f(x) Fleet Manager intelligently groups picking orders and dispatches the closest AMRs according to SKU size and location, thus optimizing routes for the shortest distance.

The AMRs autonomously navigate to workstations to collect empty pallets as instructed by the system, creating optimal paths to picking aisles. At the same time, AMRs send signals to manual forklift operators to re-stock empty pallets.

Once they reach the picking area, AMRs dock beside designated product shelves while workers use PDAs to pick items, verify them by scanning barcodes and print labels. As the products are placed on the pallet, Max AMR’s automatic weighing scale system checks the weight of the picked items against the expected weight to ensure the accurate item and quantity selection.

As soon as the picking tasks are completed, the AMRs autonomously unload at workstations and notify forklifts to retrieve pallets, communicating with the warehouse management system to complete orders.

According to the company, ForwardX’s advanced computer vision-based sensor fusion technology allows the AMRs to perform obstacle recognition and choose obstacle avoidance strategies, thereby minimizing blind spots, ensuring safe collaboration with workers and forklifts.