NEW YORK – A number of products designed to innovate in logistics and material handling have been recognized with 2020 Edison Awards.
The awards recognize innovations and innovators who extend and strengthen civil society by taking ideas to commercialization that improve education, create better working conditions, and develop a healthier environment.
Being recognized with an Edison Award is one of the highest accolades a company can receive for the successful launch of a “game-changing” new product or service. The diverse groups of winners are represented by many nations including Australia, Canada, Philippines, Israel, Japan, China, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Dubai, and the United States.
“The 2020 winners illustrate how important the advancement of research and design is to reimagine the fast changing future. The Edison Award honorees serve as global beacons of how positive innovations are changing our world,” said Frank Bonafilia, executive director of the Edison Awards.
Yale’s robotic reach truckIn the autonomous work solutions category the gold award went to Yale Materials Handling’s Robotic Reach NR/NDR035-045EB. The robotic reach truck is capable of autonomously depositing and retrieving loads up to 30 feet above floor level and reaching into double-deep storage.
Silver was awarded to GUSS by GUSS Automation, LLC. It is an autonomous orchard sprayer designed for unmanned operation that safely navigates tree rows and applies fertilizers and other materials to improve crop health. A single user can monitor up to eight of the sprayers at a time.
The Raymond Corporation won the bronze award for its Raymond Courier 3030 Automated Stacker. The stacker is designed for picking loads off the ground and at heights up to six feet, it can be used in manual or automated mode, and offers on-the-fly programming and reprogramming.
In the nextgen logistics category, MIT’s (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Hyperloop Team won for its MIT Hyperloop II. AirLev is a high-speed, frictionless vehicle designed to carry people or freight using its air levitation technology. MIT’s student team built and demonstrated the first electric Hyperloop II at 2019 SpaceX-Hyperloop that zips from zero-to-200 mph on cushion of air.
Einride won the silver award for its transport as a service concept. It is a sustainable and cost competitive transport system, based on autonomous electric trucks, that has the potential to transform road freight transport, reducing CO2-emissions by 90 percent, lower operating costs by 60 percent and improve road safety.
The bronze award went to the Bionic Intelligent AGV Fleet System (BI-AGV) by Metal Industries Research and Development Centre. The system imitates the agility and mobility that ants exhibit when carrying objects; each wheel of the system is like an ant that moves around independently being equipped with an independent power system as well as a power wheel with controller.
In the retail innovations category Bossa Nova Robotics won gold for its Autonomous Data Capture and Analysis of On-Shelf Inventory. Bossa Nova automates the data capture and analysis of on-shelf inventory in retail stores. This autonomous AI solution is currently running robots in 350 retail stores, autonomously scanning aisles, identifying products, price labels, and reporting Out of Stocks in real time.
The full list of Edison awards winners across all categories can be found here.
The Edison Awards are named after Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) whose extraordinary new product and market development methods garnered him 1,093 U.S. patents and made him a household name across the world. Since 1987, the awards have symbolized the persistence and excellence personified by Edison, while strengthening the human drive for innovation, creativity and ingenuity.
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