ARC: Cutting Material Flow Time 60% With Autonomous Robotics
How an industrial autonomous mobile robot platform, engineered by Puneet Melwani for scalable factory logistics, eliminated material handling bottlenecks for a 50,000 sq ft electronics manufacturer.
What Is ARC?
ARC — the Autonomous Robotics Carrier — is an industrial autonomous mobile robot (AMR) platform designed by Puneet Melwani to solve one of manufacturing's most persistent inefficiencies: the movement of materials between stations, lines, and storage areas. Unlike fixed conveyors or manually driven tow tractors, ARC navigates dynamic factory floors using onboard sensing and fleet intelligence, rerouting in real time around people, equipment, and obstacles.
The platform was built from the ground up for scalability. Rather than a single-purpose shuttle, ARC uses a modular payload architecture that lets the same chassis carry totes, pallets, carts, or custom fixtures — and switch between tasks without reprogramming or retooling. That modularity is what allows a single fleet to serve multiple zones of a facility, handling component delivery to one line in the morning and finished-goods transport to shipping in the afternoon.
A Facility Losing Time to Manual Material Flow
The client was an electronics manufacturer operating a 50,000 sq ft production facility with a classic intralogistics bottleneck.
50,000 sq ft Facility
A multi-line electronics production floor with components, subassemblies, and finished goods moving constantly between zones.
15% Idle Time
Production lines sat idle waiting for components to arrive — a direct hit to overall equipment effectiveness and throughput.
3 Safety Incidents / Quarter
Forklifts, hand trucks, and foot traffic sharing the same aisles created a recurring safety exposure with real incident frequency.
12 Handlers, 2 Shifts
Twelve dedicated material handlers worked across two shifts just to keep components flowing — a significant fixed labor cost.
A Fleet of Autonomous Carriers, Engineered for the Floor
We deployed six ARC units configured around the facility's actual material flow, not a generic logistics template.
LiDAR + Camera Fusion Navigation
ARC combines LiDAR mapping with camera-based perception for robust localization and obstacle avoidance, even in dynamic, people-heavy aisles.
Modular Payloads
Interchangeable tote, pallet, and cart attachments let the same chassis switch tasks across zones without downtime or reprogramming.
Fleet Management Software
A central orchestration layer assigns tasks, balances load across units, and reroutes traffic dynamically to avoid congestion.
MES / WMS Integration
ARC's task queue connects directly to the plant's MES and WMS, triggering material moves automatically from production schedules.
ISO 3691-4 Safety Compliance
Certified safety systems including dynamic exclusion zones, emergency stops, and audible/visual alerts meet ISO 3691-4 standards for driverless trucks.
Six-Carrier Fleet
Six ARC units were sized and zoned to match the facility's peak material flow demand across both shifts.
Three Phases, Six Weeks to Full Autonomy
We sequenced the rollout to minimize disruption to running production lines.
Mapping & Route Planning
LiDAR scanning of the full facility, definition of travel corridors, charging stations, and handoff points aligned to existing workflows.
Deployment, Integration & Training
Physical rollout of six carriers, MES/WMS integration, safety validation, and operator/floor staff training on fleet interaction protocols.
Autonomous Operation & Optimization
Full handover to autonomous task assignment, with two weeks of tuning on route efficiency, charging cycles, and task prioritization logic.
Before & After ARC Deployment
Within eight months, the investment had paid for itself — and kept generating savings well beyond.
Increase in material flow speed across the facility
Material handlers redeployed to higher-value assembly roles
Safety incidents recorded since deployment
Full return on investment
| Metric | Before ARC | After ARC |
|---|---|---|
| Material flow speed | Baseline | +60% faster |
| Idle time waiting on components | 15% | Near-eliminated |
| Safety incidents per quarter | 3 | 0 |
| Material handling labor cost | 12 handlers, 2 shifts | 45% lower; 8 redeployed |
| Deployment timeline | — | 6 weeks |
| Return on investment | — | 8-month payback |
Technology Stack
ARC's capability comes from a tightly integrated stack spanning perception, control, fleet orchestration, and analytics:
- LiDAR sensing: 360° LiDAR for real-time mapping, localization, and dynamic obstacle detection.
- ROS2 control architecture: A modular, real-time robotics middleware stack handling motion control, sensor fusion, and task execution.
- Fleet management layer: Centralized software for task assignment, traffic arbitration, and multi-robot coordination across zones.
- MES integration: Direct API connectivity to the plant's manufacturing execution and warehouse management systems for automatic task triggering.
- Cloud analytics: Continuous telemetry on utilization, route efficiency, and battery health feeding a dashboard for ongoing optimization.
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Ready to Automate Your Material Handling?
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