Warehouse Drone Update Allows for Inventory Checks in the Dark

Autonomous-inventory-management provider Corvus Robotics has updated its Corvus One warehouse drone with the ability to fly in lights-out distribution centers. 

The quadcopter can navigate dark warehouses without needing additional navigational infrastructure like stickers, reflectors or beacons to find its way around and check stock.  

The Corvus One system is designed to automate one of the most tedious and time-consuming tasks of running a business that sells physical goods: Inventory management. Instead of periodic inventory audits and "cycle counts," the regular counting of subsets of stock without shutting down operations, the drones perform daily scans of pallets and compare the data with warehouse management-system (WMS) records in real time.  

The reports generated allow inventory managers to identify discrepancies, locate missing inventory and keep track of stock more accurately. The system also eliminates the need to divert existing warehouse staff or hire temporary workers to manually check inventory. 

"By leveraging Corvus drone technology, companies can improve data accuracy, reduce labor costs, boost worker productivity and enable real-time visibility as inventory levels change," the company said. "The implementation of drone technology not only streamlines inventory management processes but also saves valuable time, money, and resources for businesses." 

Related:Ericsson Demonstrates Indoor 5G Drone in Smart Factory

New Funding Round 

The development of this new generation of the drone was supported by an $18 million series A round and seed funding led by S2G Ventures and Spero Ventures. The transaction closed Oct. 8, according to S&P Capital IQ.  

"Corvus Robotics fits our mission to invest in companies that truly transform the way business is conducted," said Marc Tarpenning, co-founder of Tesla and partner at Spero Ventures. "Other than a landing pad, its drone-powered system requires no infrastructure, is quick and easy to deploy and cost-effective to manage. It literally merges with the existing warehouse environment." 

Seeing in the Dark 

The Corvus One drone uses computer vision and generative AI to understand and navigate its operating environment regardless of lighting conditions. No Wi-Fi installation is necessary; the drones train on an AI model of the facility and can "go live" in less than a week, the Silicon Valley-based company said. 

With a 2.5-foot wingspan, it can operate in warehouses with aisles as narrow as 50 inches. It is equipped with 12 cameras and lidar for "omnidirectional smart collision avoidance," which also allows it to operate during the workday without interfering with daily operations. 

Related:Drones Get Practical for Business

"Being able to run inventory checks 24/7 without operator assistance has been a game changer," said Austin Feagins, senior director of solutions at Staci Americas, a warehousing and logistics company that uses Corvus One. "The lights-out capability in the Corvus One system allows our inventory teams to correct discrepancies off-shift and pre-shift before production starts each day; limiting fulfillment delays and production impacts."