Footwear factories operate in multi-process production environments where material delivery must remain stable and predictable across cutting, stitching, assembly, and finishing lines. Delays in material replenishment can disrupt production flow and cause line stoppages, increasing both labor and operational costs. As a result, many footwear manufacturers are upgrading toward automated intralogistics systems.
After expanding its production capacity, a large footwear factory found that manual material handling could no longer keep up with dense workstations, long transport distances, and frequent style changes. Logistics aisles became congested, and response times fluctuated significantly, limiting overall production efficiency. After multiple evaluations, the factory selected the 300kg Flyboat AMR robot with lifting function as its internal logistics execution unit.
The Flyboat AMR features a 300kg payload and an integrated 10 cm lifting mechanism, allowing the robot to autonomously lift material racks, transport them, and place them down at the destination. This enables direct docking with shoe material racks and component shelves, eliminating manual loading and unloading.
Using laser navigation and multi-sensor fusion perception, the robot achieves precise positioning and intelligent obstacle avoidance in complex factory environments, without requiring large-scale infrastructure modification.
At the system level, the intelligent scheduling platform automatically assigns transport tasks based on real-time production demand, enabling multi-robot coordination and reducing empty runs. Production line staff can initiate material delivery via one-click remote calls, minimizing manual intervention.
For multi-floor footwear factories, the Flyboat AMR supports autonomous elevator usage and electric door integration, enabling unmanned inter-floor rack transportation and seamlessly connecting the warehouse, kitting area, and production lines.
After stable deployment, the footwear factory significantly improved material delivery timeliness without increasing logistics manpower. Production flow became more stable, rack circulation efficiency improved, and production planning execution became smoother, supporting long-term lean manufacturing.
