GUIDEBOOK 101

Putting Full-Body, Powered Exoskeletons to Work in Fulfillment Operations

There is plenty of to help move goods, but when heavy, bulky items need to be handled, it often comes down to brute force and risk of injury for hard-to-find industrial workers. This creates a need for agile lifting solutions that don’t pin your process down to a fixed spot. Find out how a new solution type—full-body, powered exoskeletons— is stepping in to fill this gap. GUIDEBOOK 101

e’re in the midst of challenging times in logistics Other surveys, such as an annual Warehouse/DC Oper- W execution. E-commerce fulfillment pressures are ations study conducted by Peerless Research Group and skyrocketing, and busy distribution centers (DCs) struggle published in Modern Materials Handling,2 also found that to find and retain labor. Amidst all of this imbalance, DCs managers see finding enough workforce as the top indus- need to get a high volume of goods out the door, and some try issue. of these items are going to be heavy and hard to handle. While the labor market is being disrupted in new and Equipment including lift trucks, lift assist devices, troubling ways, it’s likely that long-term, companies and warehouse automation like conveyors can help. with warehousing, manufacturing, and other operations Still, in many cases, it takes human labor to handle involving materials handling will continue to struggle goods that are strenuous to lift, like many non-con- to find enough workers. The work is tough, and many veyable goods such as furniture, or awkward to ma- developed countries have aging demographics. nipulate items like tires. “A full-body, Companies with extensive logistics operations agree that powered exoskele- The reality of material handling, even with advanced au- automation, which makes the life of workers easier and ton can reduce the tomation, is that people often have to do plenty of heavy safer, is increasingly important, given how hard it is to lifting. The upside is that people-based processes are find workers who do material handling. risk of costly inju- highly adaptable, but there are downsides too. ries, particularly “There is a growing labor shortage,” says Aaron Prather, for difficult-to-au- For one, positions that involve manual material han- Senior Technical Advisor at FedEx Express. “And even dling are physically demanding jobs that remain chal- now, with unemployment high due to COVID, when all tomate, manual lenging to fill. And with companies looking to follow this goes away, and hopefully, one day, it is all going to go processes.” safe social distancing in DCs, legacy best practices such away, labor shortages are going to return. There are not as having multiple people lift heavier items need to be enough people to feed the logistics industry for everything — Kristi Martindale, revisited for methods that don’t place workers in tight that is needed going forward.” Sarcos proximity of each other. These same dynamics impact numerous industries in addition to warehousing, in- With e-commerce growth factored in, companies can no cluding many manufacturing sectors and construction. longer rely on being able to ramp up manual processes. “There are not enough people to throw at that growth, Labor-related pressures on DCs have been building for to speed that up, so you’re going to need robotics and several years, tied closely to the rapid growth of e-com- automation,” says Prather. merce. According to MHI’s 2020 Industry Report, a sur- vey-based study of the materials handling industry done Not every process in a DC lends itself to full automation or in collaboration with Deloitte,1 the top industry challenge the use of lift trucks. Inbound shipments typically arrive in warehousing and supply chain operations was hiring in full pallets and can be efficiently and safely moved by and retaining qualified workers, followed by customer lift trucks to storage. But at some point, those pallet-loads demands for lower cost and customer demands for faster need to be broken down to individual cases to keep order response times. picking zones topped off with goods. GUIDEBOOK 101

This replenishment of picking areas involves manual also help automate part of the material flow. For lift- handling of products. Many DCs also require ware- ing bulky items, cranes and lift assist equipment are house associates to lift bins filled with goods during sometimes used, but the downside to these products is order picking or to lift and place large non-conveyable that they are typically fixed to a work-center and can packages onto tow-tractor carts or pushcarts. be time-consuming or costly to reconfigure.

Additionally, there is often manual lifting involved in Fortunately, there’s a new option for protecting work- kitting operations in DCs or materials replenishment er wellness and easily moving heavy loads, without in warehouses that serve a manufacturing operation. tying workers and material flow to a fixed location. “Think of this During demand surges, it’s also not unusual to bring This solution type is a full-body, powered exoskeleton technology as a way a full pallet of goods to an order processing area on the that augments operator strength to boost productivity to protect workers floor to fill orders directly from open cases or items on while dramatically reducing injuries. by augmenting the pallet. Powered exoskeletons use robotics, sensors, and soft- their strength In short, conventional automation and lift trucks can ware to help workers lift and move loads of up to 200 and stamina, do much of the bulk material handling in a DC, but pounds. And they can be donned quickly when need- while meeting the there is still plenty of heavy lifting to do manually. As ed, explains Kristi Martindale, Chief Customer Offi- a result, back injuries, shoulder problems, and other cer and head of product strategy for Sarcos Robotics, throughput needs of costly wellness issues arise. a provider of proven products including powered exo- the operation in a skeletons that augment, rather than replace, humans. flexible manner.” According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), back injuries accounted for nearly 40% of all work-re- “A full-body, powered exoskeleton can reduce the risk — Kristi Martindale, lated musculoskeletal disorders, with materials han- of costly injuries, particularly for difficult-to-automate, Sarcos Robotics dlers being one the highest risk occupations.3 When manual processes,” says Martindale. “With powered exo- you consider a workers’ compensation claim for a back skeletons, you not only have a system that can do away injury average in the $40,000 to $80,000 range,4 the with the need for ad-hoc team lifts, you also have a solu- cost of injuries can quickly accumulate. tion that reduces strain and fatigue caused by repeated lifting and material handling tasks. Think of this tech- Conventional equipment has its place. Lift trucks are nology as a way to protect workers by augmenting their widely used to transport and lift full pallets, while strength and stamina, while meeting the throughput automation, such as conveyors and palletizers, can needs of the operation in a flexible manner.” GUIDEBOOK 101

What exoskeletons do With the power of the suit, a 100-pound load feels like Sarcos Robotics has been developing complex robotic sys- it weighs just five pounds. The system’s design allows a tems for more than 25 years designing, manufacturing, single human operator to safely and intuitively lift heavy and deploying systems that combine human intelligence objects that, in the past, would require a team of workers and judgment with the strength, endurance, and precision to lift safely, or would force work to be routed to a specific of . Its solutions are used in multiple industries, location with fixed lifting gear. including manufacturing, warehousing/logistics, construc- tion, military, and oil and gas operations. “With the Guardian XO exoskeleton, we’re augmenting the strength of humans in the workforce, not replacing “Facilitating social The Guardian® XO® exoskeleton is a full-body, bat- them,” says Martindale. “They can stay injury-free and distancing by tery-powered industrial that augments human avoid fatigue. It’s also intuitive, which makes it easy to strength and stamina to boost productivity and reduce learn how to operate the robot. With more than 120 sen- allowing one work- occupational injuries. Because the robotic suit can be sors integrated throughout each suit, the operator doesn’t er to handle the quickly stepped into and responds to the operator’s natu- need to overthink the suit’s operation—it adapts to the tasks of many is an ral movements, it aligns perfectly with material handling operators’ natural workflow, making it easy to learn and tasks that are dynamic. area of benefit for use from the onset.” powered exoskele- The Guardian XO robot deploys quickly whenever and Another unique feature of the Guardian XO exoskeleton tons, beyond avoid- wherever heavy items need to be handled—rather than is a “hands-free” mode that allows the operator to lock ing physical strains forcing the material flow into one spot. the suit’s arms to hold a heavy object in place while using their hands to perform a task like tightening a fastener and injuries.” Various modular “end effectors” that lock into the ends of with a hand tool. This feature is ideal for maintenance, the Guardian XO arms are used to secure and hold loads. light assembly, or construction tasks that, without a — Kristi Martindale, With the ability to “hot swap” rechargeable batteries in the powered exoskeleton, would take two or more people to Sarcos Robotics field, the exoskeletons can be used for an entire work shift complete. or longer. “The ability to have one person lift a heavy item using For the operator, explains Martindale, wearing the Guard- a powered exoskeleton helps a facility do more with ian XO robotic suit feels like wearing a light backpack. fewer people,” says Martindale. “But in the post-pan- When it comes time to manipulate heavy items, the power demic world, operations are required to practice social of the suit takes over - augmenting human strength with- distancing, making proximal tasks like team-lifts prob- out adding physical strain from the weight of the load or lematic. Facilitating social distancing by allowing one the suit. The movements are intuitive for the operators— worker to handle the tasks of many is an area of bene- they simply walk, position their arms, and make a normal fit for powered exoskeletons, beyond avoiding physical lifting motion to engage and lift an item. strains and injuries.” GUIDEBOOK 101

Common Misconceptions about Robotic Exoskeletons

They are a type of collaborative picking arm. expected to be commercially available This is incorrect. A full-body, powered early 2021. Additionally, the robot is exoskeleton such as a Guardian® XO® provided under a Robot-as-a-Service robotic suit is worn by an operator to model (similar to a lease program) that augment their strength by a factor of up includes service and support. to 20x, safely lifting up to 200 pounds. Think of powered exoskeletons as direct- They are power hogs that cannot be used for a ly augmenting the capability of a human full shift. Thanks to hot-swappable bat- worker, rather than only collaborating. teries and rapid charging, the Guardian XO exoskeleton can easily be used for The Guardian XO exoskeleton, by an entire shift or longer. Over the last Sarcos Robotics, integrates more than decade, the growing maturity of the ro- 120 sensors into the robotic suit and botics industry has led to better power uses advanced algorithms to provide management and less expensive sen- intuitive control. Simply put, the suit sors, reducing the cost of the hardware, reacts to an operator’s natural move- while improving functionality. ments, making the exoskeleton easy to learn and use. They have to be trained to lift specific items. False. The beauty of a full-body, powered While “cobot” picking arms have sen- exoskeleton is that it augments human sors that allow them to function safely thinking and cognition with the strength next to humans without safety caging and precision of mechanization, so there (they stop when they sense a worker is considerable flexibility in what can be is in the way of the arm’s movement), lifted because operator experience and most robotic arms aren’t mobile. They reasoning are used. can’t be easily moved for use at a new location. It’s the person wearing the suit that de- cides how to move to an item, position They are futuristic and unaffordable. This for the lift, and initiate the lift motion. is no longer the case. Sarcos Robot- Various end-effectors can be quickly ics is a company with over 25 years attached to a Guardian XO arms, mak- of experience providing robotics and ing it possible for it to be used for many exoskeleton solutions to industry and types of loads, from heavy crates with the military. The Guardian XO suit handles, to corrugated boxes, to automo- is currently being field-tested and is tive tires, to lumber or pipes. GUIDEBOOK 101

The exoskeleton market Practical applications Industry needs in multiple verticals should mean rapid Full-body, powered exoskeletons may seem futur- growth for the powered exoskeleton market. According istic—more Tony Stark (aka ) invention to analyst firm ABI Research, the total value of the rather than a proven product for a warehouse— global powered exoskeleton market will exceed $11.5 but the suits are in late-stage trials and will be billion by 2030, with full-bodied, powered exoskeletons commercially available early 2021. comprising $4.9 billion in that same time. Sarcos offers the Guardian® XO® robot under According to Industries such as warehousing, e-commerce fulfill- a Robot-as-a-Service or “RaaS” model, which analyst firm ABI ment sites, and manufacturing will inevitably turn to means the system is available as an operational Research, the total robotics and automation to be more productive and hold cost instead of a capital expenditure. The RaaS down costs, as well as to cope with issues such as aging arrangement also includes support and service on value of the global workforces and tightening of labor markets, according the units, so that facilities don’t have to acquire powered to Rian Whitton, a senior analyst at ABI. specialized knowledge to maintain the suits. exoskeleton market will exceed $11.5 The powered exoskeleton market growth, in particular, There are multiple uses for Guardian XO exo- will be driven by challenges such as aging workforce skeletons in DCs. The suits are ideal for lifts that billion by 2030, demographics and the need to achieve production objec- are too heavy for one worker to handle manual- with full-bodied, tives as labor markets tighten up as expected over the ly without the heightened risk of injury. When powered exoskel- next several years. it comes time to do the heavy lifting, Sarcos es- timates that the exoskeleton multiplies the pro- etons comprising “Major demographic pressures, plus the need to improve ductivity of a single worker several times over. $4.9 billion in that productivity in a changing global environment, is the same time. key ‘push’ driver for automation in manufacturing,” says For example, depending on the task, one worker Whitton. This gets applied to a lot of other verticals like in the exoskeleton can do the work of four to 10 logistics as well. For e-commerce to grow at the same rate workers. When you also consider that the Guard- and to meet consumer expectation, vendors need to de- ian XO robot can be deployed quickly without liver a wider variety of goods with greater speed – this workflow redesign or relocating of fixed equip- requires big improvements in productivity.” ment, the practical applications are many. GUIDEBOOK 101

Guardian® XO® in Action 3 Warehouse Fulfillment Scenarios A full-body, powered exoskeleton is ideal for warehouse lifting tasks that fall into the gap between full pallet loads that can be handled by lift trucks or automation, and smaller items that can be processed via regular manual order picking methods.

Much of the lifting in this gap involves repeated, heavy lifts of awkwardly shaped items like tires or non-conveyables such as furniture or sporting equipment that would fatigue and possibly injure workers.

HERE ARE THREE USE CASES Placing heavy non-conveyables will store and receive non-con- where needed. There is no need onto carts or conveyors at a veyables since the Guardian to install or reconfigure fixed sporting goods distribution cen- XO exoskeleton can quickly be lift assist equipment at these ter (DC). At this operation, re- deployed at the point where WIP locations, and the industri- cent additions to product lines goods need to flow. al engineering team can quick- and changing consumer tastes ly change processes in an agile have resulted in more orders for Work in process (WIP) replenish- manner without worrying about heavy, non-conveyable items, ment at a warehouse serving an au- the need for fixed lift-assist gear. including treadmills, basket- tomotive industry supplier’s manu- ball backboards, and other facturing site. At this DC, heavy Order picking and pack out of heavy items. components and materials are heavy items at third-party lo- received from upstream suppli- gistics DC for aftermarket auto The existing method for mov- ers on a just-in-time basis and parts. 3PLs face the challenge ing these items from storage need to be quickly moved to the of constantly taking on new cus- to pack/ship was to have ware- WIP materials location at each tomers, which makes it impera- house associates manually lift work cell. While some goods can tive to have efficient but flexible the items onto a cart, or onto be brought to these locations in processes. At a 3PL DC that has a trailer to be pulled by a tug- full pallets, other heavy items begun servicing aftermarket au- ger. However, this method puts need to be unpacked and se- tomotive and light truck parts, workers in close proximity and quenced for assembly. the Guardian XO exoskeleton still led to worker fatigue. is used to assist in the lifting of By deploying Guardian XO exo- heavy items like tires and sus- By using a powered exoskeleton skeletons, workers doing the pension parts during order pick- to lift these bulky, heavy items, materials drop-offs can do the ing and pack out. the workforce is protected from final WIP materials unpacking injuries, and no team lifts are and staging using the suit. At The powered exoskeleton al- required in keeping with social the same time, the suit can also lows workers of modest size and distancing best practices. be used as needed for certain strength to process picking and assembly operations. packing of heavy items, without Additionally, because no fixed the need to position fixed lift equipment needs to be reposi- By using the Guardian XO ro- equipment or call for a lift truck tioned, the operation has more botic suit, these heavy WIP ma- with a specialized attachment to flexibility in terms of where it terials can be handled when and be deployed to the point of need. GUIDEBOOK 101

For example, consider a DC for a third-party logis- to find and keep, it makes sense to provide operations tics (3PL) firm that has just taken on a new custom- with systems that help keep the workforce safe and pro- er that supplies aftermarket auto and truck parts. ductive. With full-body powered exoskeletons, DC oper- Full-body, powered Some of these parts, like filters and fasteners, aren’t ations can get more out of the workers they can find, exoskeletons may heavy and can be stored, picked, and packed by the reduce worker fatigue, and enable older, smaller, or less DC’s established systems. However, this DC also physically strong workers to take on heavier lifts. seem futuristic— needs to fill orders for items like tires, rims, and more Tony Stark suspension parts that can easily exceed 50 pounds. “We call it opening the aperture of the worker pool,” says (aka Iron Man) in- Martindale. “With the Guardian XO exoskeleton, you Under a manual approach, lifting parts and tires vention rather than greatly augment the strength and stamina of any worker would require multiple workers, which goes against wearing the suit, even persons of smaller stature, which “We call it opening a proven product social distancing best practices, and adds physical in effect extends the size of the available labor pool.” the aperture of the for a warehouse— strain and risk of injury to the work tasks. In some worker pool…With but the suits are instances, a lift truck with a specialized attachment Realistically, explains Martindale, most fulfillment could be used, but this eats into the capacity of the operations will continue to use automation such as the Guardian XO in late-stage trials lift truck fleet. conveyors, sorters, mobile , or lift truck equip- exoskeleton, you and will be com- ment to move and process many types of materials. greatly augment the mercially available By deploying Guardian® XO® exoskeletons, this But for those lifts that fall into the gap between full DC operation can handle the picking and packing strength and stamina early 2021. automation and safe manual lifts by workers, or to of orders with heavy line items without having to meet dynamic, needs, full-body, powered exoskeletons of any worker wear- create special processing zones with fixed lift-assist can be the right answer. ing the suit, even equipment. The suits can be quickly leveraged in persons of smaller multiple areas of the operation where heavy items “There will continue to be the need for people to be need to be manipulated. This not only adds flexibil- a part of the mix in materials handling, and a big stature, which in ity in terms of not having to reposition fixed lift-as- part of that reason is the dynamic flexibility that you effect extends the sist equipment, but it also allows more flexibility have in allocating people to work tasks,” Martindale size of the available where heavy items are slotted and stored. says. “But if you can augment the strength of those workers, and allow them to have safer, better working labor pool.” Augment your workers conditions, that is going to help your operations, and Given that employee turnover in warehousing can top allow you to address those gaps that exist when full — Kristi Martindale, Sarcos Robotics 35%,5 and that long term, skilled workers will be hard automation isn’t possible.”

Footnotes: 1: MHI 2020 Annual Industry Report: Embracing the Digital Mindset. See page three, “company challenges” chart. 2: Modern Materials Handling, November 2019 issue, “2019 Warehouse/DC Operations Survey: Tight Labor and Space Pressures Drive a Technology Surge.” 3: TED: The Economic Daily, “Back injuries prominent in work-related musculoskeletal disorder cases in 2016,” BLS website, Aug. 28, 2018. 4: Spine Research Institute, “Addressing the High Corporate Costs of Back Pain.” 5: Kane Logistics website, Consumer Goods Logistics Blog, “Want to Reduce Warehouse Labor Costs: Think Warehouse Labor Management.” ABOUT US

Sarcos Robotics is revolutionizing the future of work across the private and public sectors through its advanced line of robotic products that augment, rather than replace, humans. By combining the intelligence, instinct, and judgment of humans with the strength, endurance, and precision of machines, the result is a workforce that is not only safer but significantly more productive.

Sarcos Robotics is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. 360 Wakara Way Salt Lake City, UT 84108 (1) 888-927-7296 www.sarcos.com

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