WAREHOUSE AUTOMATION n Screens in forklift cabs can guide the driver efficiently to picking locations Warehouse tracking can be improved further by turning to real-time location systems (RTLSs) which use beacons in fixed locations to triangulate the position of a receiver, in a similar way to GPS navigation in cars. Interference-resistant RTLSs typically use either UWB (ultra-wide band) radio or BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy). Both of these are low-power, interferenceresistant technologies with relatively short transmission ranges of 30-200m. The beacons are usually attached to a ceiling, helping to locate items in three dimensions to a typical accuracy of 50–90cm. RTLS would seem like the perfect answer to the warehousing conundrum. You can put a tag on every item and find it in real time. Unfortunately, the RTLS equivalent of a tag is often more expensive than the item that it would be attached to, and needs a battery. So, typically, RTLS is used only to track highvalue assets, vehicles and people. However it is possible to combine these technologies to create an accurate and reliable warehousing tracking system that integrates with a company’s ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and WMS (Warehouse Management System) installations to automate the tracking and tracing of goods in real time. For example, the Finnish RTLS specialist Turck Vilant has developed a technology that tracks the position of forklifts and other transport systems. This information can be combined with height data from the position of the forks, and an RFID reader on the truck, to inventory pallets carried by the forklift. This combined data allows the system to know exactly where any pallet has been placed, and what is on each pallet. Other systems can fail due to the unauthorised movement of goods, but this new approach tracks the new location automatically in real time, whenever a pallet is lifted or moved. This technology has applications beyond warehousing. In hospitals, for example, it can be used to track and trace drugs, sachets of blood, personnel, beds and wheelchairs. Hospitals in Scandinavia are piloting such installations, which have the potential to save time and money, as well as ensuring that the right drugs are in the right place at the right time. n Follow us on LinkedIn @Drives & Controls Follow us X Drives&C Controls & rives Join us Facebo Drives & C on X @Drivesn Forthe D on ok Controls Controls latest news visit Controls the Driv www.driv ves & Controls we vesncontrols.com
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