NSERC I2I phase IIB project: A new high-speed warehousing cable robot: prototyping, evaluation,**and commercialization

对高吞吐量自动化仓储解决方案的需求很大，而且还在不断增长。这种日益增长的需求来自在线零售，以及消费者偏好从实体店购物向在线购物的转变。预计全球电子商务销售额将从2017年的2.3万亿美元增长到2021年的4.9万亿美元，5年内增长110%以上。在线零售的爆炸式增长要求新技术提供更高吞吐量的自动化仓储系统，以满足电子商务需求。我们在过去15年中的开创性工作产生了一种新技术，可以显著提高自动化仓储系统的速度。在我们的工作中，重型仓储机器人被缆绳驱动的机器人所取代，在这种机器人中，平台从一个地方移动到另一个地方，以执行任何材料处理。**基于我们的研究和实验工作取得的积极成果，一家先进的集成供应链自动化技术的全球供应商获得了我们的专利许可，并承诺通过这个I2I阶段IIb项目支持全尺寸仓储电缆机器人(WCR)的开发。在这个项目中，我们的目标是设计、制造、评估和测试一台最大工作空间为50米(L)×12米(高)、有效载荷为150公斤的西铁原型。这一全尺寸原型将用于评估和优化新型电缆机器人在实际操作中的性能，并最终将新型仓储机器人带入试生产阶段。**这项新技术的成功推出将在加拿大为机械和控制工程师、软件工程师和服务人员创造显著的扩张和就业机会。此外，参与该项目的工程师和学生将获得支持公司和许多加拿大自动化公司特别寻求的新兴技术方面的经验。这个项目的发展将大大增加大学的知识基础，这些知识将在未来多年转移给学生。

There is a large and growing demand for high throughput automated warehousing solutions. This growing demand is coming from online retail and the shift in consumer preferences from shopping at brick and mortar stores to on-line shopping. It is expected that global e-commerce sales will grow from $2.3 trillion in 2017 to $4.9 trillion by 2021, over 110% in 5 years. This explosion of online retail calls for new technologies to provide higher throughput automated warehousing systems to meet e-commerce demands. Our pioneering work in the past 15 years has resulted in a new technology that can significantly increase the speed of automated warehousing systems. In our work, heavy warehousing robots are replaced with cable driven robots where a platform is moved from one place to another to perform any material handlings. ** Based on positive outcomes achieved through our studies and experimental work, one of the global suppliers of advanced integrated supply chain automation technology has licenced our patents and committed to support the development of a full-scale warehousing cable robot (WCR) through this I2I Phase IIb project. In this project, we aim to design, fabricate, evaluate, and test a full-scale prototype of the WCR with a maximum workspace of 50m (L) × 12m (H) with a payload of 150 Kg. This full-scale prototype will be used to evaluate and optimize the performance of the new cable robot in real operations and ultimately bring the new warehousing robot to a pre-production stage. ** The successful launch of this new technology will create significant expansion and employment opportunities in Canada for mechanical and control engineers, software engineers, and service personnel. In addition, the engineers and students working on this project will gain experience in an emerging technology that is being specifically sought by the supporting company and many Canadian automation companies. The development of this project will add substantially to the knowledge base of the university, which will be transferred to students for many years to come.********