Otto 100 robot to carry cases and totes around DCs. Canadian robot manufacturer Clearpath Robotics Inc. today rolled out a miniaturized model of its self-driving vehicle used in factories and warehouses, another step in its strategy to provide fulfillment equipment that can keep up with the rising demands of e-commerce. While Clearpath’s original product, the Otto 1500, is built to carry fully loaded pallets of goods, the new Otto 100 is designed to carry smaller cases, totes, and "each" loads, company CEO Matt Rendall said in a phone interview. Working together in collaborative fleets, the two types of autonomous transporters could function alongside human pickers in congested industrial environments such as distribution, e-commerce, and manufacturing, he said. Named for its maximum payload in kilograms, the Otto 100 can carry loads up to 220 pounds at speeds up to 4.5 mph. The pallet-shaped Otto is similar in appearance to Amazon Robotics’ Kiva robot, but follows a material handling strategy of "robot plus person" as opposed to "goods to person," he said. "Kiva Systems were way ahead of their time and took the fulfillment industry by storm," Rendall said. "They proved the technology was not only ready, but could deliver [(eturn on investment). Then overnight, Amazon took them off the market." E-commerce colossus Amazon acquired the Massachusetts-based Kiva in 2012 for $775 million, ceased selling its robotic solutions to other companies, and renamed it Amazon Robotics . The Kitchener, Ont.-based Clearpath stepped into that void to meet the latent demand for warehouse automation by offering a variation on Kiva’s approach. Clearpath unveiled its first platform, the larger Otto 1500, in September 2015. With a top payload of 3,300 pounds and the same top speed as its little brother, that vehicle is designed for heavy-load material transport and is currently being used […]