Ikea relies on collaborative AI drones for warehouse management
New drones with artificial intelligence are to manage warehouse management at furniture store Ikea better than previous drones.
(Image: Ingka)
Swedish furniture retailer Ikea has developed an improved AI drone system for warehousing that can carry out inventory work independently in cooperation with human employees. Initial tests in a distribution center in Winterslag, Belgium, were promising, so the system is to be used at other locations in 2025, the Ingka Group, Ikea's holding company, announced on Friday.
Ikea has been working with the AI and robotics company Verity since 2021 to develop a fully autonomous drone system for warehouses that can take stock of products. The collaboration has now resulted in a system that is used at 73 locations in nine countries. Over 250 drones are in use.
Stocktaking with AI
The old system has now been improved, writes the Ingka Group in a press release. The new system builds on the existing one. The drones have been equipped with an algorithm based on artificial intelligence (AI). This enables the drones to identify the storage locations of individual products and record them visually. The drones used a special indoor positioning system to determine their exact location. The drone flights are planned so that they can navigate safely to higher warehouse levels beyond the third level. The drones are also equipped with obstacle detection to avoid collisions. For example, they can change flight routes independently.
Ikea is thus simplifying and automating the stocktaking of products. This is normally done by warehouse employees. However, according to Ingka, the work is time-consuming and physically demanding. The drones relieve the strain on employees, giving them more time for other tasks. It also enables faster and more precise warehouse management. Aisles in the warehouses do not have to be blocked off first. Work processes, such as the removal of goods, do not have to be interrupted. The drones detect the packages of goods on the shelves at lofty heights and transmit the results to an employee on the ground. This happens in real time so that any necessary measures, such as reordering, can be taken immediately.
In use 24/7
The installation process of the system is relatively simple, says Tommy Niemierowski, Fulfillment Project Implementation Manager at Ikea Belgium. The system can then be used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Safety is also taken care of, Ingka promises. The drones' AI contains security functions that also take the privacy of employees into account.
The system is now to be rolled out to other distribution centers. In the summer, the Group began installing the system at the Perryville distribution center in the USA. Further locations in North America and Europe are to follow in 2025.
However, this is not the end of the story. In the future, the general cargo and shelf inspection functions are to be better researched and the analysis and insight components of the system improved.
(olb)