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Startup Phantom Auto, which makes the remote-control forklifts,
will get a double benefit from the supply chain sector's
accelerating investments in automation. ArcBest and NFI said in
a statement on Wednesday they will also join a $42 million
investment round in Phantom.
Investment in industrial automation has surged during the
pandemic, according to data from the Association for Advanced
Automation.
Phantom and ArcBest have been jointly developing forklifts that
can move goods around warehouses and factories by themselves or
while being operated by a driver sitting miles from the job
site.
The technology could allow one operator to pilot multiple
forklifts in different locations, and the remote systems can
also back up vehicles designed to operate autonomously.
ArcBest and Phantom said they intend to work together to sell
autonomous forklifts with remote operation capability.
Phantom Auto began life focused on developing systems to
remotely operate driverless robo-taxis but has shifted focus to
industrial automation. Remote operation technology "decouples
labor from location," said Phantom co-founder Elliot Katz. The
pandemic accelerated interest in such technology by raising
health concerns about working indoors, and shrinking the pool of
people willing to work in warehouses and factories, he said.
ArcBest Chief Innovation Officer Michael Newcity, who will join
Phantom's board, told Reuters the trucking and logistics company
is talking to customers in the automotive and retail sectors
about deploying forklifts using Phantom's remote operation
system.
“All the customers we are talking to are growing," Newcity said.
"The labor shortage that they were dealing in warehouse
operations was pre-pandemic.”
Katz said NFI plans to deploy forklifts in its own operation
that would be operated remotely at all times.
Phantom last year announced a partnership with French logistics
company Geodis to develop remotely-operated forklifts.
(Reporting By Joe White; Editing by David Gregorio)
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