Getting a visual

York, Pennsylvania—Personnel in warehouses and distribution centres often find it difficult to visualize pallets to be stored or retrieved. Recognizing this issue, Westfalia Technologies, a provider of logistics solutions for plants, warehouses and distribution centres, now offers vertical lift station (VLS) cameras as part of its AS/RS solution. The camera option is available on new AS/RS or for retrofitting on older solutions.

As an add-on to the Storage/Retrieval Machine (S/RM), the camera allows warehouse personnel to view pallets remotely, increasing safety and accuracy in product storage and retrieval, while adding efficiency to warehouse and distribution center operations.

The VLS transports pallets resting on Westfalia’s Satellite rack entry vehicle vertically within the rack structure. Situating the camera on the VLS offers flexible, comprehensive views of the VLS, Satellite, rack structure, storage lanes and input/output conveyors. Full lane depth can be seen on the side of the S/RM with the camera as well as the opposite side. The camera helps optimize warehouse performance by allowing maintenance personnel to identify any S/RM disruptions quickly.

The VLS camera is fully integrated with Westfalia’s component solutions via wireless connection. The camera records in 1080p HDTV, while remote control allows 360˚ pan, 200˚ tilt and 36x optical zoom with electronic image stabilization. The camera can operate under extreme temperature conditions (-40˚F to 120˚F) and can be augmented by LED lights for dark environments. Notably, the camera feature is retrofit capable, allowing current Westfalia customers to install cameras onto existing S/RMs.