DB Schenker deploys logistics robots of Croatia's Gideon Brothers

The global logistics services provider has expanded the pilot project for deploying Gideon Brothers’ robots by adding a significant number of new pick-up and drop-off points, with the expansion and fine-tuning being carried out by DB Schenker's staff, the Croatian company said in a statement on Monday.

It added that in the first month of the pilot project, a robot covered a typical distance of more than 26 km per week. The autonomous logistics robots can move 800 kg and can navigate safely around people, equipment and other moving machines. During the pilot, the robots automated tasks associated with regular order fulfilment, speeding it up and allowing employees to focus on more complex tasks.

"In our drive to offer strategic advantages for our clients in the increasingly complex digital environment, DB Schenker continuously explores opportunities to integrate innovations from visionary start-up companies. Delivering automation possibilities for logistics and warehouse operations is a foundation for building the next-generation supply chain," board contract logistics' member at Schenker AG, Xavier Garijo, said in the statement.

Gideon Brothers’ robots combine deep learning with stereoscopic cameras to achieve a new kind of advanced visual perception that is cheaper than LiDAR.

"Our machines perceive the world just like we do – by processing visual inputs and understanding what surrounds them and how it relates to their tasks," Gideon Brothers CEO and co-founder, Matija Kopic, said.

"This is a technological leap. Self-driving machines, powered by vision visual perception and AI, will succeed where earlier technology failed – it will become ubiquitous in industrial environments," he added.

Gideon Brothers was founded in 2017 with the help of some 5 million euro ($5.5 million) investment from angel investors and venture capital firms.

DB Schenker is the logistics-focused division of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn. It employs more than 75,800 people at 2,000 locations around the globe.

($=0.901193 euro)