Instock Implements “Gravity-defying” Robotics in GoBolt Warehouses

Robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) provider Instock has partnered with third-party logistics company GoBolt to implement robotic automation in designated GoBolt warehouse operations. The collaboration between the two companies follows Instock’s recent $3.2 M in funding from the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, which brought Instock’s total seed financing to $6.2 M.

 

Instock’s “gravity-defying” autonomous mobile fulfillment robot. Image used courtesy of Instock

 

Instock and GoBolt Collaborate

In demonstrating a shared commitment to technology-driven innovation, scalability, and productivity, GoBolt's select warehousing operations will incorporate Instock's fulfillment RaaS. This collaborative project aims to enhance the fulfillment capabilities of GoBolt by allowing warehouse employees to focus on more complex duties. The partnership also advances Instock’s goal to democratize automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) using its novel robots.

 

In Instock's ASRS RaaS, robots are the only moving pieces. Video used courtesy of Instock

 

A Robot That Defies Gravity

Instock labels its autonomous mobile robot (AMR) as gravity-defying, as it can operate on the floor and ceiling. The robot can move between surfaces and grid levels using vertical ramps. To transport bins while on the ceiling, the AMR grips a bin's wings and then brings it to a bin shaft to move it between levels. In Instock's ASRS, the robots are the only moving pieces, delivering bins to workers at the floor-level workstation.

The RaaS fulfillment robots benefit users with decoupled storage and throughput, allowing for simple integration in any room shape and size, simplifying the servicing and maintenance approach. This ability promises scalability and efficiency of the ASRS in fulfillment and logistic centers like the select GoBolt warehouses. 

According to Yegor Anchyshkin, CEO and Co-Founder of Instock, the company's team of engineers and operators has worked closely with e-commerce operators for years. Yegor pointed out their experience with the complexities and costs of traditional technology, adding that these complexities fueled the creation of something new, focused on lowering risk and generating value for eCommerce operators, retailers, and 3PLs.
 

Vertical ramps enable the Instock AMR to move between floor and ceiling on different grid levels. Image used courtesy of Instock

 

A Sustainable Supply Chain 

With its headquarters in Toronto, the technology company GoBolt is building a large, sustainable supply chain network committed to transforming conventional logistic models by providing comprehensive and eco-friendly solutions through innovative technology.

The company's ongoing expansion and technology choices are based on its pledge to increase transparency for retail partners, streamline customers' supply chains, and contribute to a reduced carbon footprint for the betterment of the environment.

GoBolt CEO and co-founder Mark Ang expressed excitement about working with Instock to power fulfillment automation. Ang shared that the project is set to start a journey that will use automated solutions to boost warehouse workers by giving them more time to work on more difficult tasks.

 

Future Implications

As the technology in eCommerce fulfillment operations keeps improving, the emergence of collaborative projects like the partnership between Instock and GoBolt sets the stage for a new era of integration of ASRS RaaS for sustainable supply chain practices. The collaboration between Instock and GoBolt seeks to impact logistics and eCommerce going forward, with greater sights set on transforming the industry.