Handling & Robotics

From production lines to logistics, material handling is an area experiencing significant change.

Changes in the way we purchase and consume, accelerated during Covid19, have seen a growing shift toward e-commerce. For many retailers and businesses, the logistics and distribution models are also evolving in response to this change, with ever-greater demands on order processing and dispatch times, to material handling and supply chain efficiency. Suppliers and production lines are equally responding to meet demand.

Growing demand, pressure on time, and challenges with labour shortages have necessitated the need to embrace technology and innovation. The automation of many aspects of handling is unlocking patentable inventions, with a broad scope and breadth of potential applications from autonomous vehicles to production lines.

The further use of Robotics is redefining automation, and the integration of AI into robotic systems with advanced sensors is taking their capability to another level. Intelligent systems, capable of handling ever greater capacity and scope of tasks, delivering operational efficiency and new business models such as autonomous drones.

The shop of the future is increasingly within reach, with in-store automation and shelf replenishment technology, using smart sensors to monitor and manage stock quality for fragile or perishable items. The constant flow of data between the point of sale and logistics, thanks to the IoT, leads the way to self-monitoring and self-maintaining supply chains.

Improving efficiency is not simply limited to material or stock handling. Advancements in cybersecurity and blockchain technology are unlocking innovation in secure order processing and payments, streamlining, or removing bureaucracy. In a highly competitive and price-sensitive industry, the need to innovate and embrace technology is essential for competitiveness.

Whilst advancements in automation may make headline news, there is also significant invention remaining within semi-automated handling equipment, from forklifts to pallet trucks, to picking, packing, and sorting. Research, development, innovation, and Intellectual Property continues for worksite machinery that is helping the last mile of delivery, reducing further any repetitive injury risks and other health and safety concerns, as well as greater levels of productivity.

Openshaw & Co. Patent Attorneys have a wealth of experience that can be brought to bear on Intellectual Property and patents in this sector. Our knowledge of the technologies that are changing the face of the industry is world-class, and our ability to help guide and craft IP strategies and defendable patents for our clients is enviable.