Recent studies indicate companies are moving toward eventually having more robots than flesh- and-blood employees. Google Cloud research shows two-thirds of manufacturers who use artificial intelligence in their day-to-day operations say that their reliance on AI is increasing, while a report from Price Waterhouse Coopers predicts that by the mid-2030s, up to 30% of jobs could be automated.

“Interestingly, like Industry 5.0, Supply Chain 5.0 also will have to
rely heavily on collaborative robots (cobots) and need to combine human creativity and ingenuity along with the productivity, speed, and consistency of robots to improve the customer experience,” writes Prabhat Khare, director of KK Consultants, in his recent report “The Great Reset & Future of Supply Chain Management.”

“The rise of Society 5.0 may also give that extra push needed by
Supply Chain 4.1 at this stage of transformation,” Khare continues.
“While this next generation of supply chain solution is still in the
making, deploying Industry 5.0 technology and amalgamating the
current learning of COVID-19 period with JITSCM 4.1 will certainly lead to development of a new way of handling future supply chains.”

Want to see these robots in action? Go to Pittsburgh, the home
of Seegrid, whose autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are capable
of moving materials in warehouses and manufacturing sites completely autonomously. Equipped with stereo cameras and machine learning smarts, the AMRs are designed to “see just like humans do,” enabling them to navigate dynamic environments–lifting up to 10,000 pounds of goods.

Seegrid began taking customer orders in April for its newest
autonomous lift truck, Seegrid Palion Lift. Equipped with the
most advanced generation of the company’s proprietary autonomy
technology, Palion Lift is billed as the only lift truck in the market with industry-leading 3D perception.

Named to Fast Company’s prestigious list of the World’s Most
Innovative Companies for 2022—placing No. 4 globally in the robotics category—Seegrid has fast company in Pittsburgh’s robotics industry.

That’s where you will find IAM Robotics, the world’s first mobile
picking robot application, and Gather AI, the planet’s first software-only autonomous inventory management platform for modern warehouses.

Of course, supply chain robotics is not confined to the home of the
NFL’s Steelers. A 4 ½-hour drive from Pittsburgh, outside the only
Pennsylvania city that is larger, Philadelphia, is Malvern, the home of
Rajant Corp. The pioneer of Kinetic Mesh wireless networks, Rajant’s ES1-2450CS and ES1-5050CS can be integrated inside robots and automated machines.

“Obstructions, which typically hinder connectivity, such as shelving
and equipment, are a non-issue for Rajant,” boasts Geoff Smith, the
company’s vice president of Sales and Marketing.