Chinese firm seeks European opportunity with ‘game-changing' robot sorting solution 

Its ‘Mini Yellow’ range of autonomous mobile robots are pitched as cost-efficient and flexible alternative to the high CapEx fixed tilt-tray and cross-belt conveyor-based sortation systems that have traditionally been used for  parcel and e-commerce operations.

As they require less space within which to operate: 350 AMRs can cover 1,300 square metres and handle 20,000 items per hour.Significantly, they can operate within cold store environments down to a temperature of minus 30 degrees centigrade.

The technology has been deployed at a number of facilities worldwide – including Walmart in the US, Uniqlo in Japan and China Post in China ­– and it is estimated that some two billion parcels a year are processed using LiBiao AMRs.

LiBiao Robot’s founder and chief executive, Xia Huiling, commented: “Demand for more efficient and smarter warehouse management is strong in Europe, where online shopping has been growing at a tremendous pace and driving up the number of parcels handle.”

“The hardware, software and management system for the ‘Mini Yellow’ sorting system has been refined to the point where our clients usually recover the cost of their investment within one and a half to two years.”