Autonomous drones in VNA

Autonomous Drones
in Very Narrow Aisles
16 December 2020
Copyright: FlytBase, Inc. | 2020
Webinar

2
Kaushik Gala
Chief Business Officer
David Altemir
President
Joseph Waldron
Product Integration Director
Welcome!

Copyright © FlytBase, Inc.
FlytBase, Inc.
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Automate & Scale
Drone Operations
Drone agnostic software solutions to deploy
fully automated & cloud connected
commercial drones at scale.

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Outline
● Warehouse Automation
● Very Narrow Aisles
● Inventory Drones
● FlytWare

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Warehouse Automation

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Very Narrow Aisles
David Altemir
President

Why VNAs?
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● Very Narrow Aisles (VNAs) are commonly used in
large warehouses and distribution centers where
space is at a premium.
● VNAs can be as narrow as 5 feet and the
corresponding racks can be taller than 40 feet.
● VNAs are ideally suited for single-deep pallets
and/or one-deep case reserve.
● They offer direct access to the storage locations
and thus enable quick, flexible, and dense
inventory storage.

Traditional (Wide) Aisles VNAs
Most common type of rack configuration in
warehouses.
A relatively new type of storage layout,
especially in large/urban warehouses and DCs.
Typical aisle width of 9 feet or more. Typical aisle width of 6 feet, sometimes as
narrow as 5 feet.
Can be one-deep or multi-deep (pushbacks). Always one-deep.
Best for inventory storage where multiple
workers or standard forklifts need to operate.
Requires specially-designed forklifts to
putaway/pick pallets.
Prioritizes cost of equipment and trained
personnel over space utilization.
Prioritizes space utilization and quick inventory
access over upfront investment.
Traditional Aisles vs. VNAs
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Limitations of VNAs
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Worker Safety Concerns
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20,000 workers are injured in forklift
accidents each year and 25 percent of
those accidents happen when a forklift
overturns.
According to the National Safety Council,
the average direct cost to a company for
worker injury is $38,000 and $150,000 in
indirect costs.

VNA Inventory
Counts
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Warehouse Inventory Counts
Stocktaking is a core operation for manufacturing businesses, third party logistics
companies, and other supply chain stakeholders.
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Manual Inventory Counts in VNAs
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Human
Errors
Risk of
Injury
Time Consuming
& Costly
Accounting can
be Susceptible to
Timing Errors
Expensive
MHEs

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Joseph Waldron
Product Integration Director
Inventory Drones

Drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles)
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Multi Rotor Drones
Fixed Winged Hybrid VTOLSingle Rotor Drones
Fixed Wing Drones

Primary Use: Outdoors
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Indoor Autonomous Drones
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Mines Warehouse Tanks Homes
No/Weak
GPS
Size & WeightFlight
Stability
Static/Dynamic
Obstacles
Technical Challenges:

Drones for Warehouse Inventory Counts
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● Fly autonomously without GPS
● Enter and traverse VNAs
● Takeoff, land, recharge safely and automatically
● Sense and avoid obstacles
● Operate reliably, 24x7, without manual intervention
● Leverage rapidly maturing technology (battery, camera, software)

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Aerial Inventory Scan Workflow
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

● Scan LPNs, QR codes, printed alpha-numeric labels
○ Reconcile with Warehouse Management System
● Date-wise and location-wise images and video
○ Use for internal and statutory audits
● Multiple use-cases
○ Location accuracy checks
○ Empty-bin audits
○ Put-away audits
● Fail-safe features
● Scalability across millions of square feet of inventory storage
End-to-End VNA Inventory Drone Solution
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Kaushik Gala
Chief Business Officer
Autonomous Drones in VNA

FlytWare
FlytWare combines intelligent software with reliable,
off-the-shelf drone hardware for safe and cost-
effective automation of inventory counts in
warehouses, distribution centers, and even retail
stores such as warehouse clubs.

● Simple, operator-friendly dashboard.
● Plan/execute/analyze/repeat inventory missions, on-site or remotely.
● Live video feeds, location-wise images, mission archives.
Scheduled Missions
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● Autonomous navigation - no reliance on human pilots.
● Automatic, precise, safe take-off & landing from home location.
● Autonomous charging - resume mission after battery charge.
● Automatic barcode scans, powered by AI/ML.
Fully Automated
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Extremely safe and stable, off-the-shelf
drones, tested across millions of flight
hours.
On-premise data ensures information
security, with the option to archive on a
private cloud.
Data Security
Enterprise Grade
Reliability

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Seamlessly integrate with existing
WMS/ERP systems for variance analysis.
Centralized control station to manage multiple
drones and missions simultaneously.
Centralized Operations
WMS Integration
Drone Data → Inventory Insights

Feasibility
Simple checklist to
help confirm
technical viability of
aerial inventory
scans and estimate
the RoI from
FlytWare.
On-site deployment of
FlytWare, on a limited
scale, to showcase
autonomous
navigation, automated
inventory scans and
WMS integration.
‘Go Live’ with FlytWare
automated inventory
scans across all aisles,
scale to multiple
facilities and realize a
return on investment in
less than a year.
Pilot Production
Risk-Managed Drone Adoption
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● Labor, equipment, and time savings
● Improved worker productivity and safety
● Audit-ready data + Visual inventory insights
● Compounding benefits
○ Bulk storage
○ Partial pallet cycle counts
○ Multi-deep storage
Adopt inventory drones & realize RoI within a year!
Business Value for Warehouses & DCs
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Featured InFlytBase, Inc.
2nd Floor, BHAU Institute, COEP
Pune 411005
1900 Camden Ave, San Jose,
California 95124, US
+1 551-358-6065
flytware@flytbase.com
flytbase.com

References
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● Slide 5
○ https://bricz.com/implement-automation/
● Slide 7
○ https://www.carolinahandling.com/lift-trucks/swing-reach-trucks
● Slide 9 & 11
○ https://www.still.eu
○ https://data.still.de/assets/products/Vehicles/Order_Picking_Stacker_Trucks/pdf/Lagerleitfaden_
EN.pdf?mod=1603190988&download=1&s=e01b0a3c164c90978591f912a59bfaa0

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