Brightpick, a manufacturer of autonomous mobile robots (AMR), announced on Tuesday the addition of a high-end product to its lineup—the Giraffe system. This robot stands out with its unique telescopic platform, reaching heights of 20 feet (6 meters), easily accessing the tops of warehouse shelves that traditional AMRs and humans cannot reach. This innovative design offers a new solution for warehouse management.
The core of the Giraffe is its telescopic arm, consisting of three overlapping sections, with a length of 8.5 feet when fully retracted. Working in conjunction with Brightpick's existing Autopicker robot, Giraffe efficiently picks items from high shelves. The Autopicker is equipped with two supply boxes that extend to 11 feet, perfectly complementing Giraffe's telescopic arm, forming an efficient warehouse automation system.
Although the design of Giraffe is similar to the telescopic warehouse robot DexoryView from London's Dexory, their functions are entirely different. DexoryView is primarily used for scanning shelves, while Giraffe focuses on the actual handling of goods. In comparison, other high-rise warehouse inventory solutions, such as Gather AI, Verity, and Corvus's drone scanning systems, are unlikely to compete with Giraffe in the short term due to the limitations of quadcopters in lifting and moving payloads.
A more suitable comparison would be with automated storage and retrieval systems offered by companies like AutoStore and Kardex. While these systems are efficient, they come with high installation costs, complex maintenance, and a lack of flexibility. Brightpick's combination of Giraffe and Autopicker provides a more flexible and cost-effective solution that significantly increases storage density without altering the existing warehouse layout.
Additionally, BionicHive's Squid system offers a unique solution by retrieving inventory along shelf tracks, further enriching the options for warehouse automation. Amazon's investment in this Israeli robotics startup in 2022 demonstrates a strong market demand for diversified automation solutions.
Brightpick plans to launch the Giraffe system for two major clients in 2025. E-commerce retailer The Feed will deploy six Giraffes and 73 Autopickers at a facility in Colorado, while medical supplies company McGuff Company will install four Giraffes and twelve Autopickers in its California warehouse. Brightpick claims that the combination of Giraffe and Autopicker will triple warehouse density compared to manual operations while doubling the density of existing solutions.
With the rapid automation of the warehouse and logistics sector, Brightpick's Giraffe system is sure to bring new changes to the industry, driving warehouse management towards greater efficiency and flexibility.