3 April, 2023

Network’s Future Accelerates with Innovation Partner

Posted on 3 April, 20237 August, 2025 by David Priestman

The world of logistics might not seem an obvious fit for AI, but Leicestershire based Pall-Ex is embracing this powerful technology to help deliver a more efficient and improved level of customer service.

Partnering with The Algorithm People, a transport optimisation specialist delivering a suite of products and services using powerful algorithms based upon artificial intelligence, Pall-Ex will be able to offer best in class tracking for customers.

Following an extensive tender process, Pall-Ex chose The Algorithm People’s Optimize package to help deliver its NexusETA project. This is the latest addition to its Nexus freight tracking software which will have the capability to calculate the estimated time of freight arrival and provide a delivery time window to its customers and the goods recipients. Optimize is designed to provide optimisation, decarbonisation and innovation to fleet operators. Its technology roadmap will enable Pall-Ex Group to not only deliver the first phase of NexusETA, but also support its future vision and objectives.

Dave Dunhill, Chief Technology Officer at Pall-Ex Group, commented: “NexusETA is a significant project that will deliver a magnitude of benefits to our partners, members and customers. I am delighted we are partnering with The Algorithm People as they can provide the innovative technology required to deliver this project. In addition, we were impressed by their appetite to succeed and be a part of the Pall-Ex Group technology journey.”

Colin Ferguson, CEO at The Algorithm People, added: “We are proud to be supporting Pall-Ex Group in delivering its vision for the next significant addition to the Nexus platform. Our algorithms will help to provide an innovative solution for the business, bringing major benefits to customers with a more specific indicator of when their goods are due to arrive.”

Pall-Ex Group has a 24-hour operation which requires detailed and accurate planning tools. The addition of NexusETA will help the business to make communication with its customers smoother benefitting its entire network base.

Network’s Future Accelerates with Innovation Partner

Posted on 3 April, 2023 by David Priestman

New, Collborative Mobile Robotics Solution

Posted on 3 April, 202325 July, 2025 by David Priestman

Comau is designing a powerful mobile robotics platform as part of an open, highly collaborative production environment, in the context of 3 different European Projects.

The integrated solution, which leverages Comau’s proven expertise in IoT-enabled technologies and collaborative robotics, is a natural evolution of the company’s automated workflow optimization systems. Modular, scalable and completely re-configurable, the platform can be easily adapted to different applications without changing the system’s underlying software or hardware architecture. Furthermore, because the robotic arm is mounted on an autonomous mobile platform it is not tied to a single operation but can address a large number of applications in different areas of the plant as needed.

Comau’s mobile robotics paradigm integrates the company’s high-payload Racer-5 COBOT, a 6-axis articulated robotic arm that can work at industrial speeds of up to 6 m/s when human operators are not present, and its Agile1500 autonomous mobile vehicle. It supports customized and efficient operations where human operators and machines work side-by-side, and is designed to handle individualized production within an Industry 4.0-enabled manufacturing environment. It can also be seamlessly integrated within Comau’s digital infrastructure, further safeguarding productivity and profitability across the entire manufacturing line. Visual feedback for pick and place operations, as well as other tasks, is provided thanks to an integrated vision system, such as the novel Comau MI.RA, installed directly on the arm. Finally, the robotic arm is mounted on an autonomous mobile platform equipped with two independent batteries that power the AGV and the robotic arm separately and can be managed using different types of navigation modes and a standard Comau controller.

The solution is currently being used within several European projects. In the first application, with DIMOFAC, an EU-initiative aimed at helping companies implement a smart factory architecture, the platform is being used for pick and place and warehouse automation tasks within a machining scenario. For PeneloPe, on the other hand, it is being used for glue dispensing and non-destructive quality inspection in the public transport domain. Here, the goal of the Horizon 2020 program is to develop a closed-loop, end-to-end digital manufacturing solution that facilitates bidirectional data flows across the entire manufacturing value chain. Finally, the platform is being used as part of ODIN to support the manipulation of mechanical parts for automotive applications with the aim of demonstrating the technical and performance feasibility of collaborative robotics on the factory floor.

The global market for collaborative mobile robots is significant, based on an internal analysis of published market data. Especially considering that collaborative robotics already represent up to 13% of the industrial robotics market and Automated Mobile Robots are expected to achieve a 5-year CAGR of 15% (2022 to 2027).

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