New 3D-Printed Marker: Potentially a Huge Time-Saver For Logisticians

(Source : 3dprint.com – Clare Scott) – 3D Printed BumpMarker Allows for Easier Inventory Management and Tracking

In a paper entitled “BumpMarker: a 3D-printed tangible marker for simultaneous tagging, tracking, and weight measurement,” a pair of researchers introduces a device they invented that tags, tracks and weighs objects on pressure sensor sheets. As they point out, there is a major demand for inventory management in environments like warehouses and hospitals. In existing inventory management systems, it is necessary to check the names and positions of items, which can be made easier by attaching machine-readable barcodes for monitoring quantity. However, storage locations must first be determined in order to find the desired items, so radio frequency identification (RFID) tags can be attached, and RFID readers can be implemented to cover the entire storage space.

“However, when we manage containers that store relatively small objects (pellets or powders) or liquids, we must introduce an additional procedure to monitor changes in the amounts of objects in the containers,” the researchers state. “For example, if we remove a certain amount of liquid chemical from a container, we first identify the label of the container by scanning the attached machine-readable tag. After removing the desired amount of liquid from the container, the mass of the subtracted chemical is measured with a weighing scale. The amount consumed is then recorded for management purposes. This procedure is not desirable since it requires substantial manual labor and additional devices.”

Therefore, the researchers developed BumpMarker, a 3D printed device that can simultaneously acquire an object’s embedded information, position and weight on high-resolution pressure sensor sheets. The device consists of several pins on a flat baseplate.

(… ) In environments with massive amounts of inventory, the BumpMarker can be used to drastically reduce the amount of time and effort spent on assessing the status the goods contained in that inventory.

TO READ FULL ARTICLE >>> https://3dprint.com/233314/3d-printed-bumpmarker-allows-for-easier-inventory-management/

TO READ THE FULL PAPER (co-authored by Changyo Han and Takeshi Naemura)>>> BumpMarker a 3D-printed tangible marker for simultaneous tagging, tracking, and weight measurement

Photos credit >>> ibid, as published in 3dprint.com