The startup develops robotic grippers and cell pickers specifically designed for food technology companies and online grocery services to automate food packing processes. These robots can adaptively grip and manipulate a diverse range of fruits, herbs, and vegetables, enhancing efficiency and scalability in food handling operations.
Funding
$2.3M raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
Fulfillment centers face increasing pressure to meet the demands of online grocery services and food technology companies, but traditional manual packing processes are labor-intensive and prone to errors. Automating the handling of delicate and diverse food items, while maintaining quality and hygiene standards, presents a significant challenge.
Solution
thtRobotics offers the Noyce AI Pick&Pack solution, a robotic system designed to automate food and beverage fulfillment center operations. The system utilizes a patented adaptive gripper, Dexter, and AI-powered computer vision system, DeepEye, to handle a wide range of items, including soft and irregularly shaped foods. Noyce integrates with existing warehouse logistics and order management systems to streamline tasks such as picking, placing, and quality control, enabling near-complete automation of the packing process. The DeepEye system can also be installed as a standalone product to assist human pickers in quality control by detecting picking mistakes and providing real-time feedback.
Target Audience
The primary target audience includes food technology companies, online grocery services, and meal kit companies seeking to automate their fulfillment center operations and improve efficiency in food packing processes.
Features
- Adaptive gripping technology (Dexter) that adjusts to the size, shape, and softness of various food items without damaging them
- AI-powered computer vision system (DeepEye) for object detection, classification, and quality control
- Integration with existing warehouse management systems (WMS) and order management systems (OMS)
- Robotic cell for adaptive piece-picking order fulfillment (Noyce)
- Defect detection capabilities to identify and remove rotten or damaged items
- Barcode scanning for added packing flexibility
- Water-resistant and disinfectable gripping technology suitable for food handling
- Real-time dynamic adaptability, eliminating the need to readjust gripping forces