The first year of our project has concluded, and in this brief interview, we share updates from the Decathlon use case.

Here are insights from our partner:

Can you provide an overview of the status of your use case, highlighting any major milestones or achievements that have been reached after 1 year of the project?

In the initial project year, we meticulously defined the Decathlon case study, focusing on single-reference container picking activities. Our analysis revealed significant variability in product attributes, presenting a formidable technological challenge. Collaborative efforts resulted in the reclassification of products into homogeneous groups, laying the groundwork for robotic picking. Testing sessions covered grippers, picking logics, and operations’ reliability and quality, including initial trials of vision systems within Decathlon warehouses.

Can you discuss some of the challenges (if any) encountered during the development of the use case and the corresponding solutions or strategies employed to overcome them?

The complexity of picking operations for a diverse product range necessitated classifying products into multiple groups, each addressed with a dedicated picking strategy. This forms the foundation for the flexible picking process developed in the MASTERLY project. Additionally, the challenge of full automation prompted the consideration of a training and testing station. An operator intervenes when a product is not yet categorized or when parameterized operations fail.

If you want to know more about the DECATHLON use case http://masterly-project.eu/use-cases/