Highlights:

  • According to Mujin, the MujinController can automatically choose the best method for completing the work after analyzing the goods that a company wants to process using machine learning.
  • With its latest USD 85 million fundraising round, Mujin plans to increase the appliance’s client acceptance.

Mujin Corp., a startup developing warehouse robots and their controlling software disclosed receiving an additional USD 85 million in funding.

Recently, the Series C round was revealed. James Kuffner, the Chief Digital Officer of Toyota Motor Co., and other backers like Accenture plc joined SBI Investment in leading the effort. With this round, Mujin has raised over USD 159 million overall in outside capital.

Installing a new robotic arm in a supply chain operation can take several months. The system needs to be manually set up to begin processing merchandise; it cannot accomplish this alone. Companies frequently have to create their custom robot management software for this role.

Mujin, based in Atlanta and Tokyo, is trying to simplify the task. It provides a piece of hardware called the MujinController, which companies can attach to robotic arms made by well-known industrial producers. The device claims to automate most of the manual labor required for programming recently deployed robots.

According to Mujin, the MujinController can automatically choose the best method for completing the work after analyzing the goods that a company wants to process using machine learning. The automatically generated action plan is then implemented with only minimal manual input. As a result, businesses are spared from developing original software or training artificial intelligence models.

The MujinController also promises to streamline warehouse operations by other techniques.

For managing their robots, different manufacturers offer a variety of software options. Workers frequently need to use numerous software interfaces in a logistics facility that houses automation hardware from many suppliers. The MujinController enables the management of several robot types via a single software interface.

Pallets are frequently used in warehouses by employees to transport and store goods. Robots powered by MujinController, according to Mujin, can carry out the task automatically. Depalletizing, the act of unloading goods from freshly delivered pallets, is another skill it possesses.

Picking is another monotonous warehouse operation that Mujin claims to simplify. Finding the warehouse shelf where a specific item is stored and removing it happens this way.

Ross Diankov, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Mujin said, “The MujinController introduces a unique approach to creating robotics applications, leveraging a real-time non-volatile digital twin and offering a suite of perception, planning and control algorithms to digitize the real world and autonomously move robots and other industrial equipment through it.”

The business offers two internally developed warehouse robots in addition to the MujinController. The first, QuickBot, aims to automate unloading goods from pallets. Additionally, Mujin sells TruckBot, a robotic conveyor belt used to unload shipping containers and the trailers of delivery vehicles.

The startup revealed that more than 1,000 warehouse automation systems are powered by MujinController globally. With its latest USD 85 million fundraising round, Mujin plans to increase the appliance’s client acceptance.