The inventory is made by flying

iixDrone opens up new possibilities for intelligent inventory management

iiXDrone is an innovative project for intelligent warehouse management. In Italy the project can be financed under the industry 4.0 plan. iiXDrone is a Research & Innovation project.

iiXDrone is the new flying device designed to simplify warehouse management processes and aims to offer the company significant savings in time and costs. The best application of this technology is in the rotary inventory because it is a quick, safe and reliable system for detecting and updating all data on the physical positioning of products stored in the warehouse.

Main features

The solution consists of:

• a drone that offers all the guarantees of safety and anti-collision, equipped with a video camera that allows the pilot to control the flight and take photos / videos that can be attached to the collected data
• an iiXOn Gateway Box installed on the aircraft. The combination of the two components allows to obtain a practical, useful and “intelligent” technology for the execution of rotary inventories at any time of the working day without the need to stop the warehouse or block the activity of the employees engaged in normal activities of receipt and shipment of goods.
• A rugged tablet that plays camera images, displays product / location code readings and other service functions.

The iiXOn Gateway is made up of software and hardware:

• the software includes an APP that performs three main functions:
  • View the images that the drone camera sends to the tablet for flight and activity monitoring.
  • Data collection in line with the warehouse map
  • Real-time data transfer via wi-fi on the company’s web server that allows you to view a personalized report in which there are:
    1. Exact location in graphic format by reading the coordinates
    2. Percentage of empty and full locations
    3. The content code
    4. Photos of the location

• Hardware is a latest generation industrial cost industrial grade card for optimal data collection. It is the heart of the system. It manages the transmission of all data coming from the drone, from the extra long range industrial scanner, from the server and from the position sensors.
  • Can be updated with data acquisition options:
    1. UHF module for data coming from RFID TAG
    2. BT module for data coming from TAG Bt and o Beacon
    3. Other sensors, for example temperature / humidity in the different warehouse heights, or anything else that the customer would like to implement

How does it work

The pilot places the drone in the lane to be inventoried.
To carry out the process correctly it is necessary to respect the following operation:

1. After take-off the pilot must detect / read / scan a location label in the lane to be inventoried, this allows the system to align the physical position of the drone with the warehouse map previously loaded on the system; this operation allows the creation of a network of virtual coordinates, capable of identifying the exact correspondences of the locations of each product on the basis of flight data and the heights of the locations, aligning / entering the codes read in the “virtual grid” matrix.
2. The second operation: by piloting the drone along the shelves, we proceed by reading the Barcode product codes placed on the labels in succession; in addition, the camera will help the pilot to view the exact position of the labels and any obstacles along the flight from a distance All data collected by the software is transmitted to the service cloud.
   The APP system installed on the drone, in addition to reading all the product labels, can take photos and / or videos to manage “missions” and or report critical issues; through the image the operator can subsequently define the content of the location.

Once the lane to be invented has ended, the pilot’s task is to land the drone and perform the process again in another lane or turn off the device, ending the inventory process.

Advantages

The iiXDrone solution has significant benefits that improve business performance and KPIs. In detail:

• Semi-automatic rotary inventory: through the use of only one person (pilot) it is possible to inventory automatically without the aid of other means and / or tools. This improves productivity and operability by reducing both the staff needed and the tools to be used.
• Time savings: with the iiXDrone solution, the Lead Time of the process is significantly reduced; the reading speed of the drone allows to reduce the movements of the operator to a minimum. In addition, through photos and coordinates, in real time it is possible to go to the requested location in case of inspection, verification and control.
• Cost reduction: less use of resources is needed both in terms of personnel and physical tools.
• Reliability and Error Reduction with unique physical references (coordinates): iiXDrone allows to reduce human error. Thanks Thanks to the warehouse coordinate system, each package / pallet has a unique location almost certified by photo or video.

it is possible to quantify how KPIs improve from a current situation (AS-IS Situation) to a future one (TO-BE Situation) after the implementation of the iiXDrone. The results obtained have important implications on productivity, on operations, on error reduction and on the reduction of fixed costs incurred to carry out warehouse management activities. Learn More.

F.A.Q. The drone reads all the labels, how do I recognize only the necessary ones? The drone acquires all the information it reads and transmits all data. There is the possibility of applying filters so that only the required data can be viewed and analyzed. What ambient brightness is needed? None in particular, the drone is capable of reading labels even in low light conditions. How can I see where the label position is for the products placed high on the shelves? By replicating the video signal of the camera on the rugged tablet installed on the console, it is possible to see in real time the images and the area where the drone is flying Do I need a flight license? It is not necessary to have a license. You need to take a simple course to learn how to take off and land with the drone; the practice will improve the pilot’s skills.

 

For the production of iiXDrone, Mobiix works in partnership with In Air S.r.l., an innovative start-up specialized in the use of drones for technical analysis of infrastructures, solar plants and precision agriculture.

 

Mobiix and In Air are based in Co + Fabb coworking in Sesto San Giovanni, just outside Milan, a place where innovative and technologically advanced companies can develop profitable collaborations. In Italy, the companies can have numerous tax benefits: the project, in fact, can be included in the National Industry 4.0 Plan.

Furthermore, Mobiix srl is CRTT registered – Center for Research, Technology Transfer and innovation support in the Lombardy Region QuESTIO system – and is comparable to a university research center; companies that develop projects with Mobiix can obtain special vouchers from the Lombardy Region o Chamber of Commerce.