In the April issue of Modern Materials Handling magazine (MMH), contributing editor Amanda Loudin wrote a featured article on "Robotics Orchestration Software: The Maestro has Entered the Building". Dan Gilmore, chief marketing officer at Roboteon, is quoted extensively in the MMH piece.

First, Loudin notes that well-known Gartner analyst Dwight Klappich has said operations get complicated as the number and types of warehouse robots deployed grows.

Klappich says that manifests as a need for a new types of software, which Gartner calls a Multi-Agent Orchestration Platforms, or MAOP - and fulfillment orchestration is at its core.

Loudin then quotes Roboteon’s Gilmore:

Any software or robotics company offering MAOP will admit that it’s a new, evolving class of software. But it’s one whose time has come, says Dan Gilmore, CMO at robotic software provider Roboteon. “The concept is a bit complex because, in the past, the notion of WES was to oversee robotics operations,” he explains. “But WES is essentially a subset of MAOP.”

The article continues: "It [MAOP] is a new best-of-breed category, and it’s just starting to catch on," says Gilmore. "If you take the concept of a maestro who brings everything together and synchronizes it, you get a beautiful output. That’s what MAOP aims to achieve."

Later in the article, Gilmore is quoted again: "There’s an awareness in the vendor community that orchestration is necessary. It will continue to gain momentum."

As robotics proliferate on the warehousing floor, the demand will arise that they can also communicate for optimized results. MAOP-while still the new kid on the block— will be at the center of this complex coordination.

"Right now, we’re sitting in the lull of the storm," adds Gilmore. “The math is very good, and we’ll see an acceleration in robotics adoption, because it’s necessary. I’m bullish on the next 10 years.”  

The interesting full MMH article can be accessed on its web site here:

https://www.mmh.com/article/the_maestro_has_entered_the_building