Orbico Chooses Gideon Brothers to Make Logistics Jobs Safer and Easier

Orbico has launched a pilot project to deploy Gideon Brothers’ collaborative autonomous mobile robots in their warehouse facilities. The pilot has been launched by Orbico Croatia in a distribution center near Zagreb.

As part of the pilot, Orbico has deployed two robots, testing various “on demand“ use-cases, such as transporting goods on repetitive runs between certain points of the distribution center. These use-cases, launched on demand by employees when needed, allow Orbico to test the functionality and flexibility of the Gideon's technology, including traffic coordination with forklifts, human-robot interaction, as well as support and training processes. Orbico is also interested in testing use-cases that involve integration with warehouse management system software.

Deploying Gideon’s robots is an effort that brings new efficiencies to and reinforces the flexibility of Orbico’s operations. The added flexibility is especially important for Orbico Croatia, due to the extremely seasonal character of the local market. In certain market segments, the difference in demand between summer high season and non-tourist offseason is 1:17.

“Gideon Brothers’ robots can autonomously operate within existing facilities, and that is a key advantage for us. The possibilities of what technology can perform changes with each day, but the costs and benefits are not always acceptable. However, this technology is offering great benefits for us at an acceptable price, and this is why we have chosen to launch the pilot project with them,“ said Branko Roglić, Orbico's founder and Supervisory Board Chairman.

“We at Gideon Brothers are creating industrial machines that will help humanity explore the next level of productivity. So far, few global suppliers have been able to offer true collaborative robots for warehouse and manufacturing environments, simple and quick to integrate, without long deployment cycles, workforce training, and customization. We are confident we have created such a solution, one that brings a revolution into warehouse operations,“ said  Matija Kopić, Gideon Brothers CEO and Co-Founder

Gideon’s robots have so far been deployed at two other Croatia-based international companies, car-parts retailer Tokić and Atlantic Grupa, an FMCG manufacturer and distributor. The robot is an entirely autonomous pallet carrier, capable of lifting 800 kg and is designed to navigate safely around people, equipment as well as other moving machines.

Gideon Brothers’ proprietary Advanced Visual Perception-based autonomy technology combines deep learning with stereoscopic cameras to create the next generation of robot vision. The technology offers unparalleled navigation and localization capabilities, thus allowing a significantly wider range of use case scenarios in the dynamic industrial environments than machines using only LiDAR.

Another distinctive value-added feature is its hot-swappable battery system, allowing batteries to be exchanged in operation so that downtime is brought to a minimum. As the robot is fully autonomous, it uses no guidance systems and no modification of facilities is necessary. It requires only pallet frames that allow the robot to pick-up and drop-off pallet and a charging station for batteries.

“We are excited that we have launched a pilot project at Orbico Group. Changing consumer expectations, digitalization, and technology are remaking the playing field and only companies that are adapting, and fully embracing the tools of Industry 4.0, will be able to power forward. Our technology helps companies transform, become more flexible and cost-efficient“, concluded Milan Račić, Gideon Brothers Chief Growth Officer and Co-Founder.