6 Ways Artificial Intelligence Will Transform the Warehouse

Article By : Hailey Lynne McKeefry, Editor in Chief

AI will help electronics OEMs make real strides in their businesses, especially in the warehouse.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has, in some ways, is a solution looking for a problem. However, a variety of markets and applications are starting to emerge, and it’s likely that AI will help electronics OEMs make real strides, especially in the warehouse.

“Artificial intelligence technologies are being deployed for an increasing variety of use cases across consumer, enterprise, and government markets around the world,” market research firm Tractica said in a recent report. “AI is an umbrella term that includes multiple technologies, such as machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, natural language processing (NLP), machine reasoning, and strong AI.”

By many accounts, AI sales will grow at an astonishing rate in the next few years. In fact, the total AI market is expected to be worth $416.06 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 62.9% from 2016 to 2022, according to research by MarketsandMarkets.  Grand View Research, meanwhile is slightly more conservative, estimated that the global AI market will reach $35.87 billion by 2025 from its direct revenue sources, growing at a CAGR of 57.2% from 2017 to 2025, and $58.97 billion by 2025 from its enabled revenue arenas. That’s still a large market. 

The repetitive and intensive tasks in the typical warehouse make it a solid opportunity to use AI to good advantage. “Consider the work of retrieving items in a warehouse, where companies have relied on people’s ability to navigate crowded spaces and avoid moving obstacles,” said an Accenture report titled Why Artificial Intelligence Is the Future Of Growth. “Now, robots from Fetch Robotics use lasers and 3D depth-sensors to navigate safely and work alongside warehouse workers. Used in tandem with people, the robots can handle the vast majority of items in a typical warehouse.”

However, that’s just the most obvious use for AI in the warehouse. The slideshow below, made from images from Vero Systems, outlines some other possibilities. Click on the image to review the myriad of opportunities for using these emerging technologies in a typical warehouse environment. 

Where do you see the most promise? Let us know in the comments section below. 

— Hailey Lynne McKeefry, Editor in Chief, EBN