December 11th, 2019, Eyesee has been exhibited at Daher Innovation Day.
Partners, suppliers and customers could discover innovative solutions that are now or will be soon used in Daher activity.
Cosmétique Active International (CAI), part of the L’Oréal group, has chosen Eyesee, the inventory-taking drone solution published by Hardis Group, to handle some of its inventory operations
Cosmétique Active International (CAI), part of the L’Oréal group, has chosen Eyesee, the inventory-taking drone solution published by Hardis Group, to handle some of its inventory operations at its logistics hub near Vichy, France. The firm used Eyesee alongside uniform pallet categorization and labeling standards, shaving two-thirds off the time it previously took to complete the inventory. As well as covering all inventory locations, the solution also delivered improved safety and comfort for warehouse operatives.
The Cosmétique Active International logistics hub, near Vichy, France, is where L’Oréal stores all Active Cosmetics finished products (La Roche-Posay, Vichy, Sanoflore, Roger&Gallet SkinCeuticals and CeraVe brands) before shipping them to 50 subsidiaries worldwide. In the past, inventories at the hub—which has a capacity of 25,000 pallets—were completed manually using around a dozen cherry pickers.
In July 2018, CAI teamed up with Hardis Group to trial the Eyesee inventory-taking drone solution in real-life conditionsin part of the warehouse. The system, which is overseen by a single operator stationed on the ground, delivered impressive efficiency savings, shaving two-thirds of the time it previously took to complete the inventory and allowing employees to focus on higher value-added tasks. L’Oréal group’s statutory auditors have also approved the drone system for accounting and financial audit purposes.
Following the successful trial, CAI will deploy the new solution across all areas of its business in 2019, conducting inventories on the fly and correcting stock errors all year round.
Carry out logistic inventories using a drone, to avoid the use of cherry pickers: that’s Eyesee’s goal. Having obtained a patent, the solution is now entering a semi-industrial phase. It will be presented at CES Unveiled Las Vegas 2018.
Hardis announces that its Eyesee solution to automate logistics inventories with the help of a drone and a tablet application has been recognized as an Innovation Award Honoree at CES 2018. Over the last 18 months, the solution has undergone significant development, thanks to tests carried out in the warehouses of FM Logistic, an international leader in storage, transportation and packaging, and in collaboration with Squadrone System, a company specializing in unmanned drones and known for its Hexo+ product which is available to the general public, to develop a model specifically designed for logistics inventories. It will be presented at CES Unveiled Las Vegas on January 7, 2018 and will also be on show at the CES event at stand 51051, Hall G in Eureka Park.
Eyesee: automating and securing logistics inventories
In warehouses, inventories require significant human and material resources. They involve renting cherry pickers and stopping operations to allow operators to scan all the components which make up the stock, one by one: pallets, boxes, items. Bearing these constraints in mind, Hardis Group has designed Eyesee, a comprehensive drone inventory solution, which includes a drone capable of unmanned flight and equipped with a system to automatically capture and identify barcode data, a business application for tablets to automatically monitor flights and captured data, along with a back office application using Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing for administration, configuration and simple integration with all the WMS and ERP on the market.
The principle is simple: at the entrance to each aisle, the operator drops off the drone, which starts the inventory according to a flight plan, predefined via the application. The agent can see the captured data on the tablet in real time and can interact with the drone via the application, if necessary – for example, if it cannot find the code to scan. Simple to implement, with no need to adapt infrastructure, Eyesee is five times faster when compared to inventories carried out with cherry pickers. Above all, it reduces the risks and the difficulties involved in inventories.
Two years of research and development
Hundreds of hours of flight in various FM Logistic warehouses have led to the creation of a preproduction model. Today, the Eyesee drone has a quadcopter design. It incorporates new indoor localization technology, a high-performance scanning system and an HD camera. It is equipped with protective foam to protect its propellers and on-board equipment. In terms of security, the drone is equipped with a 360° anti-collision system. It automatically interrupts its flight if it detects obstacles in its path, if one of its geolocation sensors is faulty or if Wi-Fi communication is cut off with the tablet. The tablet application to monitor flights and the back office application have also undergone various changes in the last 18 months, following feedback from FM Logistic’s teams. “The tests helped to develop the solution, to measure performances and to ensure that the solution would be accepted by operators“, explains Stéphane Cadenet, the inventor and head of the program.
Today, this model has been recognized as an Innovation Award Honoree at CES 2018. “Since we filed the patent, which we have now obtained, Eyesee has received a very positive reception from the market. We receive several requests for information every week from logistics specialists across the globe“, says Jean-Yves Costa, Assistant Director of Logistics Solutions at Hardis Group.
Over the next few months, FM Logistic, as a first-tier partner, will roll out a first series in Europe, while other pilot schemes will begin with Hardis Group’s other European customers.
Renault Group & Hardis Group partnership
To accelerate Renault Group digitization of its global supply chain
Hardis Group, a consulting firm, digital services company and independent software vendor, announces a joint innovation partnership with Renault to digitize the car manufacturer’s logistics processes. The agreement is a major milestone in the deployment of Hardis Group’s strategic plan, as the firm looks to harness connected devices, cloud platforms and AI solutions to accelerate the digital transformation of its manufacturing and logistics clients.
Digital Transformation
Modernize Renault Group factories
Renault has been introducing new digital technologies at its plants in recent years, and has embarked on a drive to modernize its IT system. Now, in 2018, the manufacturer has teamed up with Hardis Group to roll out a joint innovation and digitization program across its entire global supply chain. As part of the agreement, Renault has opted for Hardis Group's Reflex WMS warehouse and factory logistics management system and is currently deploying the solution at its MCA Maubeuge plant, where it trials all new digital technologies. Renault has also deployed Hardis Group’s inventory-taking drone solution, Eyesee, which was presented to French President Emmanuel Macron and Renault Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn when they visited the Maubeuge plant on Thursday, November 8, 2018.
About Groupe Renault
Groupe Renault, which has been making cars since 1898, is now an international corporation with a presence in 134 countries and sales of 3.76 million vehicles in 2017. Today, the company has over 180,000 employees, 36 manufacturing sites and 12,700 sales outlets worldwide. To meet the major technological challenges of the future while continuing to pursue its profitable growth strategy, Groupe Renault is focusing on international expansion. To this end, it is drawing on the synergies of its five brands (Renault, Dacia, Renault Samsung Motors, Alpine and LADA), electric vehicles, and its unique alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors. With a 100% Renault owned team committed to the Formula 1 World Championship since 2016, the brand is involved in motorsport, a real vector of innovation and awareness.
After being awarded at the CES in Las Vegas, the autonomous inventory drone Eyesee obtains a new Innovation Award Honoree at the CES Asia. The solution will be showcased at the exhibition, to be held from June 13-15 in Shanghai.
Hardis Group announces that its solution Eyesee for carrying out inventories in logistics warehouses with the help of an autonomous drone, has just received an “Innovation Award Honoree“, in the drone category, for the third edition of CES Asia. The company will exhibit at the show with about twenty other companies, led by the French Tech Mission as well as Business France in Shanghai, on booth 4251, Hall 4N.
The main objectives of Hardis Group’s presence at CES Asia are to meet Chinese companies from the manufacturing, CPG, retail and logistics industries likely to be interested in deploying Eyesee and to recruit potential Asian distributors.
All the innovations awarded for CES Asia: http://www.cesasia.cn/events-conference/innovation-awards-listing-en/
Learn more about Eyesee: https://eyesee-drone.com/
Hardis Group receives the Special Jury Award of the 15th Innovation Awards at SITL (International Week of Transport and Logistics).
The jury of the SITL Innovation Awards made up of logistics and transport professionals examines about fifty entries each year.
The results were announced on Thursday, 2 April, during the last day of the exhibition: Hardis Group won the Special Jury Award for Eyesee, its inventory-taking drone.
About Eyesee:
- Eyesee is an autonomous drone allowing to automate inventories and stock updates in warehouses.
- The drone is equipped with a camera, a mapping system and indoor geolocation technology which allows to identify and capture the information to be treated in order to make the inventory, to associate the image with its position in the warehouse (indoor geolocation) and automatically translate its 3D position into a logistics address (storage location). The data collected by Eyesee can be processed in any warehouse management system (WMS) existing on the market.
- Eyesee allows to improve the warehouse productivity by reducing material and human resources required to carry out inventories (rental of boom lifts, mobilizing operators, etc.).
- This innovation paves the way to a daily inventory made every night, for example, and to a better stock reliability.
Eyesee will be tested in FM Logistic warehouses to: see how well the solution designed in the lab translates to real life in the warehouse so it can be fine-tuned to meet logistics providers' requirements as closely as possible; measure the benefits in productivity, safety and quality in a real-life situation.
A fully autonomous industrial drone
Aware of the logistics-related opportunities offered by the physical and technical characteristics of drones, Hardis Group filed a patent in 2015 for an inventory-taking drone to automate inventories and simplify and optimize inventory management in warehouses.
The drone is equipped with sensors, enabling it to move around the warehouse autonomously, controlled by an operator. Its on-board camera identifies and captures inventory data which can be transmitted to any WMS on the market. The aim is to save time and increase productivity and safety in inventory and stock control operations.
Real-life testing with FM Logistic
Hardis Group recently signed an agreement with FM Logistic to test the solution at its logistics sites to check the system’s ability to meet the sector’s requirements. Innovation, which drives productivity, performance and flexibility, is a key value for FM Logistic, which has a committee of international experts dedicated to it. The aim is to imagine, design and deploy innovative solutions to improve working conditions for its employees and quality of service to its customers. So it was no surprise that the company agreed to get involved with the inventory-taking drone project.
FM Logistic opened up its warehouse in Satolas (France) to Hardis Group teams to conduct tests relating to flight conditions (site mapping, geolocation, lighting configurations, surfaces encountered by the drone, etc.) and the collection of information required for inventory-taking (label reading for example). In September, FM Logistic business teams will start testing the drone and the collection and processing of information by their tools.
Testing with FM Logistic will continue until the end of 2016.
About FM Logistic
Since its creation in 1967, FM Logistic has become an international leader in warehousing, transport and packaging. The independent family-run group is recognized as an expert in FMCG, distribution, perfume/beauty, industry and health markets.
Present in Asia, Eastern Europe, Central Europe, Western Europe and Latin America with over 20,000 employees, FM Logistic has a turnover of over a billion euros.
In addition to its international expansion, FM Logistic’s development is focused on a strong policy of innovation, while respecting the environment. The group has pioneered ‘pooling’ (shared management of transport and logistics resources), for which it has received numerous professional awards.
Environmentally responsible by design, FM Logistic is a member of the Green Freight Europe program, an initiative aimed at improving the environmental performance of freight transport in Europe.
In 2015, the company developed CityLogin, an environmentally friendly solution to address logistics requirements for the final part of the journey in European cities.
About Squadrone System
The Squadrone System team, created in 2013, launched a Kickstarter campaign for the Hexo+ project, a fully autonomous drone that follows and films the user, raising over 1.3 million dollars. In a year, the company has transitioned from concept to reality and now has over 3000 users throughout the world. Based in Grenoble, France, and San Francisco, California, Squadrone System is conquering the industrial market with its autonomous indoor and outdoor flight technologies.
