Tag Archives: logistics

Artificial Intelligence will bring about a revolution in the realm of complex problem-solving within logistics and beyond.

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Researchers at MIT and ETH Zurich have developed a machine learning-based technique that speeds up the optimization process used by companies like FedEx to deliver packages. This approach simplifies key steps in mixed integer linear programming (MILP) solvers and uses company-specific data to tune the process, resulting in 30-70% speedups without sacrificing accuracy. This has potential applications in a variety of industries facing complex resource allocation problems.

The research conducted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and ETH Zurich aims to address complex logistics challenges, including delivering packages, distributing vaccines, and managing power grids. The traditional software used by companies like FedEx to find optimal delivery solutions is called a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) solver, but it can be time-consuming and may not always produce ideal solutions.

The newly developed technique employs machine learning to identify important intermediate steps in the MILP solver, resulting in a significant reduction of time required to unravel potential solutions. By using company-specific data, this approach allows for custom tailoring of the MILP solver. This new technique results in speeding up the MILP solver by 30-70% without sacrificing accuracy.

Lead author Kathy Wu, along with co-lead authors Sirui Li, Wenbin Ouyang, and Max Paulus, highlights the potential of combining machine learning and classical methods to address optimization problems. The research will be presented at the Neural Information Processing Systems Conference. The team hopes to further apply this approach to solve complex MILP problems and interpret the effectiveness of different separation algorithms.

Source: scitechdaily.com

In Orbit Aerospace Aims to Expand as a Third-Party Logistics Provider for Science and Industry

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Space startup in its second year of establishment orbital aerospace The company wants to become a third-party logistics provider for commerce from Earth to space. And to get there, the company just signed a new contract to validate key technical capabilities of the International Space Station.

The El Segundo, California-based company develops orbital platforms and reentry vehicles that enable mass manufacturing and research in space. In Orbit’s plans are more than a little ambitious. The idea is to host customer factories and laboratories on an orbital platform. An unmanned reentry vehicle would autonomously dock and rendezvous with the platform, and robotic systems would transfer manufactured materials to the vehicle, which would then return the products to Earth.

“Automation and robotics are the backbone of industrial production on the planet,” CEO Ryan Elliott said in a statement. “It should be no different in space.”

It’s a mistake to think that In Orbit is trying to compete with space manufacturing companies like Varda Space and Space Forge, Elliott said in a recent interview. “Their customers and our customers are fundamentally different,” he said. “We handle logistics, on-orbit hosting, [but] We don’t manufacture the materials ourselves. ”

Elliott and his two co-founders, Antonio Coelho and Ishaan Patel, have been driving this effort for just over two years. The company has raised about $2 million to date, and the team is currently raising money to support a demonstration mission in mid-to-late 2026.

For its first mission, the company will work with a satellite bus provider that will host an orbital platform and a subscale version of the reentry rocket. If all goes as planned, the mission will demonstrate transporting material from a host platform to an atmospheric reentry vehicle and back to Earth.

In Orbit has a huge amount of work ahead of it. The company must ensure rendezvous and docking, cargo transfer between the two spacecraft, and reentry processes. Elliott said rendezvous, docking and reentry were particularly challenging.

“There’s so much commercial hardware out there for parachute and heat shield suppliers,” he said. “Simulation and testing are also very difficult. You can’t test reentry in all the different environmental parameters on Earth. The only way to do it is through flight testing.”

The new contract with NASA is part of the company’s efforts to minimize these risks. Under the new Space Law Agreement, In Orbit is partnering with Nanoracks to demonstrate autonomous docking and robotic transport in a zero-gravity environment. Nanoracks, now owned by Voyager Space, has had a commercial presence on the ISS for many years and frequently provides support to newcomers looking to take advantage of the ISS National Laboratory. In-orbit testing will occur in mid-to-late 2025 at the earliest, Elliott said.

On a longer-term scale, In Orbit aims to launch a second mission in 2026 and then partner with a spacecraft provider to set up a manufacturing lab in orbit. The ultimate goal is simply to leave the hardware in space and launch a reentry capsule that rendezvous with and docks with an orbiting platform.

In Orbit expects its core customers to be manufacturers who want to outsource Orbit hosting. Those customers might work with, for example, pharmaceutical or semiconductor companies looking to manufacture products in space.

“The percentage of people who want to manufacture things in space is increasing exponentially,” Elliott said. “There’s a lot of hype around it. NASA is putting more money into it. The Department of Defense is very interested. There’s just more to come.”

Source: techcrunch.com

Fr8Labs, with support from East Ventures, seeks to digitalize the logistics sector in Asia.

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While freight forwarders in Western markets are working to digitize their operations, the founders say the same is not true in Southeast Asia. Fr8Labs. Reasons for this include a lack of localized software and a more fragmented logistics industry dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises. Fr8Labs wants to digitize the logistics industry in Asia with its SaaS operating system and plans to turn it into an open ecosystem where multiple players can utilize his API.

The Singapore and Indonesia-based startup today announced that it has raised $1.5 million in seed funding from East Ventures, FEBE Ventures, Kaya Founders, Mulia Sky Capital, Seedstars, Venturra, and angel investors. Fr8Labs currently has over 50 customers in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia and is expanding to other Asian regions.

The startup was founded in 2022 by CEO Glenn Rye and head of product technology Felix Lu. Mr Lai, whose family is in the freight forwarding industry, started his career in the logistics industry in 2015 with his Sinar Gas Golden Agri Resources. Then, in 2019, he and Lu joined Indonesian e-commerce logistics company Bizzy, where he served as COO and VP of Products, respectively.

After Bizzy was acquired by Warung Pintar, the two returned to Singapore, where Mr Lai became head of strategy and growth at software company Gravity Supply Chain. He has traveled the world and worked with major international logistics and supply chain companies. He found that in contrast to Asian markets, supply chains in developed markets are digitally interconnected.

Lai said one of the reasons for the technology gap in Asia’s freight transportation industry is that the market is more fragmented compared to Western countries, where corporate players dominate. Large freight forwarders can encourage other players to go digital, especially since they have systems that allow the companies they do business with to connect using APIs. Freight forwarders in Asia, on the other hand, are mainly small and medium-sized enterprises and do not have enough concentration to influence new practices. Another reason is that digital logistics systems are built for specific markets and won’t work in Asia due to different accounting and customs policies, Lai added.

As a result, many carriers in Asia, especially Southeast Asia, still use on-premises software or a combination of Microsoft Excel, email, chat, and off-the-shelf accounting systems. Lai said this not only makes it difficult to scale, but also introduces errors that can result in carriers paying customs duties and late penalties (fees charged for shipping containers that aren’t picked up on time). It says that there is a sex.

“This contrast inspired me to think about how we can improve the freight industry in Asia,” Lai tells TechCrunch. “I gathered Felix and some of his past colleagues to brainstorm a solution. Rather than disrupt the strong network, expertise and relationships of Asian freight forwarders, we , we realized that it was important to take advantage of them.”

Fr8Labs co-founders Felix Lu and Glenn Lai

Fr8Labs develops products that power these networks, including allowing freight forwarders to offer cargo insurance, foreign exchange trading, and financing capabilities to their end customers (e.g., allowing online travel agents to offer travel insurance to their passengers). (similar to the method provided). The startup’s core product is an operating system that supports the entire carrier workflow, including quoting, booking confirmation, shipping confirmation, job accounting, and accounting backends. The platform enables departments such as sales and operations to work together more efficiently and links platforms such as email and chat.

One use case is that instead of multiple manual data entries, carriers can upload a PDF of a shipping order and automatically create shipping reservations and other documents, including forms that need to be submitted to customs. is. Another example of how Fr8Labs can be used is as a warehouse management system module. This allows freight forwarders to interface directly with their clients’ backend ERP, allowing them to manage international shipments to and from the same warehouse.

A portion of Fr8Labs’ funding will be used to expand the platform, adding FX trading, lending, cargo insurance, rate management, and a marketplace. The startup’s goal is to turn its platform into an open ecosystem that can be integrated and managed with a variety of logistics technology software.

“Think of Android or Apple and how integrated each device is into the ecosystem,” Lai says. “We want to provide freight forwarders with a seamless operational experience and build further value-added services on top of that.”

Roderick Pulwana, managing partner at East Ventures, said in a statement: “While the application of technology is critical in logistics as it helps improve cost efficiency and productivity, industry players are not immune to challenges in enhancing digital logistics. Fr8Labs’ innovative technology solutions We address the challenges faced by freight forwarders in Southeast Asia. We are confident that the team’s expertise will enable Fr8Labs to transform the logistics industry and add value across the value chain.”

Source: techcrunch.com