n NEWS July/August 2024 www.drivesncontrols.com 8 A US START-UP HAS EMERGED from two years of stealth development to announce a new automated form of warehousing and material handling that does away with traditional forklifts, pallet jacks, conveyors and elevators. San-Francisco-based Mytra has already attracted $78m of nancing for its technology, which uses a combination of hardware and software to move materials in three dimensions and will “revolutionise” supply chains and material-handling. It automates the most common industrial task: moving and storing materials. The company was set up by Chris Walti, who spent seven years at Tesla leading the Model 3 material ow team and the Tesla Bot (now Optimus) humanoid robot programme, and Ahmad Baitalmal, who led software developments at Tesla and at the EV-maker, Rivian. They had experienced the diculties of implementing automated warehouses and manufacturing facilities, and felt it was “time for a reset”. They set out to develop a simple automated way to move and store materials. The result is a system that moves any type of inventory (palettes, totes or cases, for example) weighing up to 3,000lb (1,360kg) in any direction (X,Y or Z) using cells, mobile robots and software. They reckon they can automate up to 60% of the material-handling process, compared to around 10% using existing technologies. The Mytra system has three key components: bots which move the materials; a simple, repeated matrix structure for storage; and edge-intelligent software, which simplies deployment, cuts costs, and avoids single points of failure. The customisable system moves inventory from any cell to any adjacent cell in any direction. It uses advanced machine vision and sensor technologies for precise, realtime responses. The autonomous AI-driven transport robots make independent decisions in real time. Mytra's software optimises bot routes, manages inventory, and learns and improves continuously, adjusting to changing customer demands. Material ows are software-dened, allowing users to unlock new applications and future-proof their operations. "Material ow makes up the lion's share of the work in a warehouse but is still largely done the same way it was a century ago,”Walti points out. “This is because the alternatives are too complex, have too many parts, and are customised for specic applications. We’re taking a radically di¤erent approach by reducing the number of parts and moving the focus from hardware to software. “We are the rst and only solution that can universally automate many of the most labour-intensive, costly and complex aspects of material ow, which are the 'red blood cells' of any industrial operation,” he adds. “Mytra enables innite ways to move, store, and retrieve materials, changing applications instantly – all of which are controlled by software. This will drive massive eciencies not only within warehouses, but also in adjacent transportation and manufacturing operations.” Mytra estimates that its system can cut warehouse labour hours by up to 88%, and double internal rates of return compared with current best-in-class technologies. The rst real-world installations are at the US supermarket chain, Albertsons, which is using the system to bu¤er and sequence inventory at its distribution centres, before shipping goods to its stores. “Mytra's automation system o¤ers unique exibility to address many di¤erent applications using the same hardware,” says its vice-president of supply chain automation, Mustafa Harcar. The “highly simplied approach has the potential to unlock new levels of eciency, with the condence that the system can adapt to future needs,” he adds. Mytra will use the latest round of funding to expand its team (which currently numbers around 85), scale its technology, and deploy a next generation of systems to blue-chip companies to automate applications that today are still highly manual and labourintensive. https://mytra.ai Ex-Tesla robot chief emerges with $78m and new way to move materials Mytra’s modular system is designed to automate the most common industrial task: moving and storing materials B&R Industrial Automation has appointed Andrew Norcli e as managing director for machine automation in the UK and Ireland. He succeeds Alan Conn, who has been promoted to a new role as B&R’s regional MD for machine automation in Northern and Eastern Europe. Norclie, who joined B&R in 2013, has held various positions in the company. Earlier in his career he worked for Siemens and Rockwell Automation. In his new role, Norclie will lead B&R’s strategic initiatives and drive growth. Kelly Becker has expanded her role as president of Schneider Electric’s UK and Ireland (UK&I) operation to include Belgium and The Netherlands. Becker (left) has been a senior leader in Schneider more than 13 years, previously serving as country president in Ireland and vice-president of the Power Solutions Division in the US. Schneider has also appointed Kristin Hanley as vice-president of global marketing and sales excellence for the UK&I. She was previously vice-president of customer operations. Miles Ackerman has been appointed interim president of Nidec Drives, succeeding Anthony Pickering who has been made president of Nidec’s Motion Platform. Ackerman, who has been with the company for 25 years, was previously Nidec Drives’ chief nancial ocer. It is common practice in Nidec, when promoting internally, for senior positions to be made on an interim basis, initially. Nidec Drives was formed recently by bringing together Nidec’s Control Techniques and KB Electronics brands. The company says that Ackerman will foster innovation, support employee development, and enhance sustainability.
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