🤝 Universal Robots Ecosystem Meets... RightHand Robotics

Revolutionizing logistics automation with the RightPick solution 📦

In the constantly evolving, high-speed logistics industry, automation is no longer a luxury for manufacturers—it's a requirement. As e-commerce continues to soar and supply chains grow more complex, companies are increasingly relying on flexible robotic solutions to meet demand efficiently with consistency. One of the key players in this space is RightHand Robotics, Inc , whose innovative RightPick™ solution is transforming logistics operations around the globe. Through their partnership with Universal Robots (UR), RightHand has crafted a solution that not only meets the high demands of modern logistics but also provides exceptional reliability, ease of integration, and versatility.

Universal Robots invited RightHand Robotics to participate in our booth this year at #promat2025, and during the show I got to speak with the RightHand team - Yaro Tenzer , Kevin Downing , Brian Campbell , Caleb Cox , Jack Donahoe .

Check out my conversation with RightHand's Head of Product, Annie Bowlby , about RightPick™ below 👇

Why Universal Robots? The Power of Collaboration 🤝

One of the key reasons RightHand Robotics chose to integrate the UR collaborative robotic platform into their RightPick solution is its ability to streamline maintenance, integration, and day-to-day operations. The Universal Robots platform is renowned for our embedded safety functions as well as it's easy-to-use, flexible, and reliable robotic arms, which are well-suited for the logistics environment. Our cobots are designed to be intuitive, allowing for quick setup and minimal downtime. This means that our customers can spend less time troubleshooting or maintaining and more time benefiting from the efficiency our robots bring to the workflow.

Moreover, the Universal Robots are inherently designed for collaboration with human workers, providing a seamless and safe environment. This feature is essential for the logistics environment where humans and robots often work side by side. The ease of integration with RightHand Robotics' software and hardware ensures that businesses are able to deploy the solution quickly and begin seeing benefits in a short amount of time.

"The cobot was easy for us to integrate with. Its lightweight, so when we go to deploy its really easy for us to install it. And also for maintenance. When we need to do things like swap the gripper, we want that operator to not have to shut down the whole machine to get it back picking." -Annie Bowlby, Head of Product

Consistency and Throughput: A Strategic Focus 📈

RightHand Robotics has made a clear strategic choice to focus on consistency and throughput in its RightPick solution. While burst speed may be important in certain high-velocity environments, the logistics industry demands solutions that can maintain a high level of performance over extended periods. RightPick is engineered with this in mind—designed not only for speed but for reliability and sustainability during long operational hours.

The solution is built to handle steady, repetitive tasks without compromising performance. Unlike robots built for maximum speed in short bursts, the RightPick solution optimizes for operational efficiency over time. The integration of Universal Robots' cobots allows for consistent and precise movements, resulting in high throughput, reduced errors, and minimal human intervention. Logistics operations using RightPick can achieve a steady pace that meets the needs of both order fulfillment and supply chain management, ensuring a balanced and sustainable workflow.

"In logistics, throughput is king. A human may be able to do higher bursts where they can pick more items, but we smooth the curve out. It's predictable all day long. And we find that we're not the bottleneck. Its the ASRS or GTP (goods-to-person) that ends up being the bottleneck. We're waiting on it to bring us a tote for us to pick out of. So it doesn't necessarily matter for how fast we can move, it's how much can we get out of the system." -Annie Bowlby, Head of Product

Versatile Gripper Design: Built for a Wide Range of Items 🖐️

One of the standout features of the RightPick solution is its vacu-mechanical gripper design, which is critical for equipping the solution to achieve high bin yield and ensuring that a diverse range of items can be effectively handled. Whether it's small, delicate items or larger, heavier parcels, the RightPick's gripper is designed to pick up an enormous variety of products with precision and care.

This combined gripper approach—vacuum for lightweight items and mechanical fingers for stabilization of heavier or irregularly shaped items—gives the system unparalleled flexibility. This versatility is crucial in the logistics sector, where the types of items can vary significantly. As e-commerce continues to introduce a wide array of product types, the ability to flexibly and consistently pick and place items in bins or totes is a major advantage.

Moreover, RightPick's gripper system is built with high bin yield in mind. By utilizing advanced algorithms and machine learning to optimize picking decisions, the system maximizes storage capacity and minimizes wasted time and space. This results in increased utilization and improved inventory management, which are another essential to meeting the demands of the modern supply chain.

"Our gripper is based on human fingers. If you think about your hand as you grasp something, you're not controlling each joint individually. You're controlling them all together. It helps with our overall reliability, which is what our system is all about." -Annie Bowlby, Head of Product

A Positive Impact on Logistics Customers 📦💨

The benefits of RightHand Robotics’ RightPick solution are clear across a wide array of logistics operations. By using Universal Robots' collaborative platform, RightHand has empowered it's customers to automate tasks that were previously difficult, time-consuming, and error-prone. Customers now benefit from:

• Reduced operational costs 💰
• Scalability 📈
• Improved accuracy and productivity 🎯
• Faster ROI 👍

Conclusion: The Future of Logistics Automation 🤖

In an industry driven by efficiency, reliability, and adaptability, RightHand Robotics’ RightPick solution, powered by Universal Robots' platform, is helping logistics companies stay ahead of the curve. By focusing on easy maintenance, streamlined integration, reliability, and consistent throughput, RightHand is revolutionizing the way goods are picked, sorted, and moved within supply chains.

The combination of UR's robotic platform and RightPick’s advanced gripper technology and AI-powered picking software creates a versatile, high-performing solution that delivers real-world value across diverse logistics operations. As automation continues to transform the logistics landscape, RightHand Robotics and Universal Robots are proving that the future of supply chain optimization is collaborative, intelligent, and reliable.

❓ How do you see automation transforming your logistics operations?

❓ What’s holding you back from adopting collaborative robots in your operations?

🔗 Interested in learning more about how automation is shaping the future of logistics? 👀

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