Virtual 3D warehouse to present itself at Materials Handling 2017

Swisslog’s virtual reality 3D technology will enable intralogistics managers at the Materials Handling Middle East exhibition, in September this year, to see how they can optimise the flow of goods in an automated warehouse.

Armed with HTC Vive goggles, supply chain heads will experience how different technologies in fully automated warehouses such as robotics and Industry 4.0 can work together.

Daniel Hauser, managing director for Central Europe and the Middle East at Swisslog Warehouse & Distribution Solutions, said that while visitors can explore an automated warehouse in a fun way, they can also experience first-hand its unique benefits.

“Virtual Reality 3D warehouse animation will become a real service for customers in the future, and there are different ideas within Swisslog on how it can be deployed in the intralogistics world,” said Hauser.

“It can be used in sales to show buyers what their future systems would look like up and running on site, and it can be used to simulate systems to determine the optimal material flow or to observe performance during projected peak times. Another vision is to provide access and track live operations of any facility in the world, as well as play back historical data for error analyses.”

The exhibition will also see the presence of other warehousing automation specialists such as Kardex, GreyOrange, SSI Schaefer, and Daifuku, the world’s largest materials handling systems supplier.

Andrey Kras, account manager at Daifuku’s International Business Department, said the company also plans to use virtual reality at its booth so customers can visualise automated systems of their choice.

“The hotness of the automation topic in previous years was measured by the level of surprise and discoveries made by Middle East managers as to how automated equipment can benefit their businesses,” said Kras. “Now is the time to make business decisions and start buying new automated systems.”

The 9^th edition of Materials Handling Middle East arrives as analysts Frost & Sullivan estimate the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) materials handling equipment market to grow 4% annually up to 2020, when revenues will reach close to $5bn. The event will be held from 11^th to 13^th September 2017, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.