ITJ 41-42/2023 – Robots as friends
Dear readers,
I recently learnt a new word – cyber-socio-physical system. Yes, it does indeed belong right in the middle of the world of logistics. It addresses the question of bringing together all the elements – people, physical logistics, digitalisation – of a system, as Stefan Hohm, the chief development officer on Dachser’s management board, explained on 22 September at a Dachser Switzerland industry conference in Biel (Switzerland). The sometimes rather wantonly used term innovation was filled with life by concrete examples there.
So what does innovation in logistics look like? First of all, an innovative path is characterised by the fact that it combines the idea of improvement with a targeted process, so that the innovation doesn’t simply peter out in everyday business. At this stage you have to allow for mistakes – a bitter blow to the perfectionists of our time. On top of this we have to realise that actually it’s best to give every automated guided vehicle (AGV), for example, a pet name. This ensures that the sympathy of warehouse logisticians grows with their new tin buddy, and that he’s also more likely to accept it as a supporter that enables him to devote himself to more qualified work.
Technical creativity can even go so far that employees without the necessary expert knowledge can programme their own app for their work, via a ‘low-code / no-code platform’.
This is how the wonders of technology meet the wonders of nature!
In this spirit of innovation, I wish you a good read.
Christian Doepgen
Editor-in-chief