inVia Robotics and Rufus Labs partner on robotics and wearables

Warehouse automation and robotics solution provider inVia Robotics and Rufus Labs, a provider of wearable warehouse technology and workforce analytics software, have announced a strategic partnership to increase intelligence and productivity in warehouses through their subscription offerings. The collaboration is directly aimed at addressing warehouse labor shortages that the industry currently faces, allowing warehouse employees to work more efficiently and supercharging workforce productivity.

The combination of these two technologies ensures a continuous flow of orders through the warehouse that increases picking rates with existing labor, according to the vendors. The robots from inVia autonomously retrieve ordered items and bring them to a stationary picker. That worker is directed by inVia PickMate software running on Rufus’ android wearables & tablets to scan the items, place them in an order bin, and then scan the bin. This cycle repeats and is continuously improved with intelligence from inVia Logic and Rufus Labs WorkHero software to create the most efficient movement of goods and people throughout the warehouse to increase productivity, the vendors explained.

As e-commerce demand grows,  inVia and Rufus Labs help warehouses accelerate digitization without requiring large capital expenditures. Under inVia’s Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) model customers pay only for the services they use, keeping investment targeted. The system includes inVia Logic AI-driven software and inVia Picker robots.

“inVia Logic alone doubles worker’s productivity and paves the way to later quadruple productivity once inVia Picker robots are deployed. With the added efficiencies introduced with Rufus Labs’ wearable technology, we expect productivity to reach new highs in our shared customers’ facilities,” said Lior Elazary,  chief executive officer and co-founder of inVia Robotics.

Rufus Labs’ WorkHero is a Productivity-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution that includes workforce analytics software, rugged wearable technology, and superhuman support. Wearable computers and barcode scanners offer real-time scanning metrics, scan and non-scan labor task management, and workforce data to continually improve warehouse operations. The wearable barcode scanner is modular, allowing warehouse workers to choose their ergonomic preference by sliding the scanning module into a ring, glove, or palm scanner attachment.

“Optimizing humans and robots in the warehouse is key to future sustainability, increased productivity, and ensuring a safe environment for workers. Rufus WorkHero already cuts pick time in half and provides added safety features to pickers. Our partnership with inVia will continue to improve throughput for our mutual customers, and allow for future innovations between humans and machines,” said chief executive officer and founder of Rufus Labs, Gabe Grifoni.

With the first joint deployment of inVia Logic AI-driven software, and Rufus WorkHero connected operator technology, Cargo Cove 3PL will see immediate benefit across warehouse configuration optimization, worker productivity, and visibility analytics. Cargo Cove expects to double productivity as a result of the joint integration.