Epson and its subsidiary company Epson X Investment Corporation have, through their EP-GB Investment Limited Partnership, invested in robotic piece-picking solutions developer, RightHand Robotics.
RightHand Robotics is a startup that combines its grasping knowhow with computer vision1 and machine learning to develop piece-picking solutions. The company was founded in 2015 by a DARPA Autonomous Robotics Manipulation (ARM) Program challenge-winning team from the Harvard Biorobotics Lab, the Yale GRAB Lab, and MIT.
RightHand Robotics’ RightPick™ platform uses AI software equipped with advanced computer vision to recognise and reliably pick a wide range of products at a high rate with an intelligent gripper that combines suction and compliant fingers. The platform contributes to automated logistics operations in the warehouse supply chain process and meets the evolving needs of the fulfillment2 industry.
Epson has efficient, compact, and precision technologies along with expertise in volume production at factories that assemble small, precision products. The company seeks to leverage these strengths to drive innovations in manufacturing by co-creating flexible, high-throughput production systems that reduce environmental impacts. By engaging in cooperation with RightHand Robotics, Epson will respond to the growing demand for automation in factories beset by labour shortages and will explore a range of applications to improve working environments.
Going forward, Epson aspires to achieve a sustainable society by creating a variety of partnerships and synergies based on proprietary technologies, products, and services.
1A field of research and technology in computer science that focuses on enabling computers to identify and understand objects and people from information such as images and videos. Computer vision, especially in combination with machine learning and AI, can enable computers and robots to replicate human abilities and automate tasks.
2In businesses engaged in e-commerce and catalogue sales, for example, fulfilment refers to the entire process from the time an order is received until it is delivered to the customer. (Fulfilment may encompass everything from order management and the handling of inquiries to payment, inventory management, item picking, packing, and shipping, as well as after-sales support for returns and exchanges.)
