CXOToday conducted an exclusive interview with Robinson Philippose, co-founder and CEO of ARAPL RaaS.
Can you tell us what ARAPL RaaS is and the vision behind its creation?
Our parent company, ARAPL, has been involved in robotics and customized automation for many years. The next step was to productize automation. We embarked on warehouse automation to leverage our engineering and robotics expertise to build a scalable automation product. Our goal was to create a solution that was possible and easy to scale for a small number of customers. In the warehousing space, customers often have multiple warehouses, making the success of one easily replicable across their network.
We also wanted to make sure the big robotics companies didn’t disrupt the space too soon. With Zeus, we started with pallet handling and storage density solutions, while many companies were looking at humanoid robots. These solutions are not easily replaceable by humanoids. Mobile robotic automation for heavy lifting, reaching higher heights, and managing large products on pallets will continue to require autonomous mobile machines.
ARAPL RaaS has filed six patents and developed five unique software solutions, can you elaborate on some of these innovations and how they enhance your robotics solutions?
ARAPL RaaS has filed six patents and developed five unique software solutions to improve the efficiency, accuracy and speed of warehouse operations. Our innovations include automating the movement and storage of goods to reduce manual work and errors, streamlining processes and increasing efficiency. High-throughput picking uses advanced robotics to speed order processing and improve fulfillment. Smart inventory reorganization optimizes space and access for frequently picked items, while automated inventory audits provide real-time inventory data and minimize discrepancies. In micro-fulfillment centers, an optimized order fulfillment system supports rapid processing and same-day or next-day delivery. Multi-core carousels increase throughput by handling multiple orders simultaneously.
Our proprietary software further enhances these innovations: Fleet Management reduces downtime and improves coordination of robot fleets; SLAM Navigation enables real-time adaptation to dynamic environments; WMS Extend integrates robots into warehouse management for comprehensive control, and WCS Extend enables seamless integration and optimized workflows to increase productivity.
Can you explain the key features and benefits of driverless pallet jacks, driverless reach trucks and driverless forklifts?
Our driverless material handling equipment, including driverless pallet jacks, driverless reach trucks and driverless forklifts, offer numerous benefits: These robots are zero-training products (0TP) and require no on-site training for operators, ensuring seamless implementation. They are pre-trained using 3D mapping and CAD uploads, ensuring a faster start-up process. Designed to be platform and hardware agnostic, our robots seamlessly integrate with a variety of systems and hardware, providing flexibility for diverse setups.
These unmanned solutions increase warehouse efficiency and productivity by automating repetitive tasks, allowing human workers to focus on more complex tasks. They also increase safety by reducing the risk of accidents and injuries, creating a safer workplace. Automation allows for reduced labor costs, downtime and error rates, resulting in significant cost savings in the long run. Our scalable solutions easily adapt to growing business needs, allowing you to introduce additional units without extensive reconfigurations or retraining.
One of the key points raised is that the solution requires no IT integration. How does this benefit your clients and what is the typical deployment process in warehouses?
The lack of IT integration required is a major advantage of our product, making it accessible to SMEs with limited IT resources, while addressing security concerns makes it attractive to larger enterprises as well. Self-contained processing with built-in AI in each unit enables intelligent decision-making in real time without relying on a centralized system. This reduces network load and avoids the need for large IT infrastructure. Our robots can work with a self-defined Warehouse Management System (WCS) that handles any form of order data, eliminating the need for ERP or WMS integration. This is especially beneficial for 3PL players who may not have a dedicated IT team. Our plug-and-play robot API requires minimal configuration and supports RESTful services and MQTT for real-time data exchange.
A typical deployment process includes setting up the robot with a pre-configured WCS, pre-deployment preparation, system configuration and testing, on-site integration and live testing, operational handover and training, and go-live with ongoing optimization. This approach ensures a fast, efficient and safe implementation for every client.
ARAPL RaaS offers a pay-as-you-go model with no capital expenditure and a payback period of as little as six months. How has this business model been received by customers? Please share any success stories.
ARAPL RaaS offers a pay-as-you-go model with no capital expenditure and a payback period as short as 6 months. How has this business model been accepted by your clients? Do you have any success stories? In the US, the penetration rate of high-end automation is 5% but what we are trying to sell is not robots or technology, but “certainty”. Certainty is all people will pay for. Whether it’s Uber or Blinkit, people want certainty. Our model is a simplified version of pay-as-you-go and we call it PAYS (Pay As You Save). With this model, you only pay for what you save and you don’t have to pay a cent more and there is no need for a third party. Once the capital expenditure is recovered, we will provide services that you are currently paying $18-20 per hour for just $3-5 per hour.
What are ARAPL RaaS’s future product development and market expansion plans?
ARAPL RaaS is strategically expanding its product lineup and market expansion with innovative technologies that are redefining material handling and warehousing operations. Our products include reach trucks, counterbalanced forklifts, advanced autonomous forklifts such as the MAIA series, the robust Latent Lifter Robot, and the powerful Zeus models. In the future, we plan to integrate hybrid navigation technology in our Hercules and forklift models to significantly reduce travel times and increase efficiency. We will expand our portfolio with collaborative robots (COBOTS) and advanced sorting solutions to streamline processes and increase productivity. Additionally, we aim to develop vision-based inventory management and picking systems that leverage vision and augmented reality (AR) for safety and efficiency. To enhance our technology stack, we are incorporating a Fleet Management System (FMS) with Reinforcement Learning (RL) and Constraint-Based Scheduling (CBS) for optimal navigation and task allocation. All our systems have cloud connectivity capabilities and are monitored by our global monitoring desk to provide real-time insights and support around the world.
Given your extensive experience in retail, warehousing and distribution, what do you think are the key trends that will shape the future of these industries and how is ARAPL RaaS adapting to these trends?
As e-commerce expands, consumer expectations for fast delivery are on the rise. To address this, ARAPL RaaS is enhancing its product lineup with vision-based systems and advanced robotics (hybrid navigation and omnidirectional movement) to streamline warehouse operations and improve the speed and accuracy of order fulfillment. Leveraging AI and IoT technologies, ARAPL RaaS is developing systems to enhance inventory management and warehouse safety. Vision and AR-based safety systems, along with cloud connectivity, provide real-time insights and global monitoring to ensure safe and optimized operations. In line with sustainability trends, ARAPL RaaS is focused on developing systems that reduce environmental impact and increase operational efficiency. The introduction of COBOTs and sorters, RFID and wearable technologies helps in reducing energy usage and enabling safer and more collaborative operations. Additionally, ARAPL RaaS is committed to ensuring on-time staffing with robotic solutions, further supporting the industry’s transition towards automation and efficiency.
What are the biggest challenges you have faced in developing and deploying your robotics solution, and what opportunities do you see for further innovation in warehouse automation?
Developing and deploying robotic solutions comes with several challenges. Key issues include ensuring seamless integration with existing systems, responding to fluctuations in the warehouse environment, and optimizing real-time decision-making capabilities. Opportunities for further innovation in warehouse automation are promising. One of the key areas is the development of smart racking and storage solutions that can communicate with autonomous forklifts and robots to optimize storage strategies and retrieval processes. These intelligent racks can dynamically adjust their configuration based on real-time inventory data and demand forecasts. Additionally, extending the capabilities of vision-based inventory management and AR safety systems to interact with smart peripherals increases functionality. Augmented overlays can provide optimal storage strategies and safety alerts for operators and robots. Holistic fleet management systems (FMS) incorporating reinforcement learning and constraint-based scheduling can further refine multi-agent path planning, ensuring efficient navigation and optimal interaction with smart infrastructure such as racks and modular storage units.
