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Ocado created the most incredible world transforming machine controlling tech

Lianna Brinded   

Ocado created the most incredible world transforming machine controlling tech
Tech3 min read

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Ocado/Cambridge Consultants

The inside of Ocado's radio controlled automated warehouse.

Everyone was focused on whether Ocado, the online grocery delivery group, was going to be acquired by Amazon. And when it confirmed that Amazon was not in talks with the company, the share price plummeted.

But this is just a distraction.

Ocado is one of Britain's most exciting tech companies, as it's racking up massive revenue growth and creating a whole heap of technology that it can hive off and sell on to other businesses should it wish.

And today, Ocado proved that by announcing the launch of the wireless technology that goes into the wider Ocado Smart Platform (OSP). The wireless technology, developed with Cambridge Consultants allows Ocado to control 1,000 machines, communicating with them 10 times a second, all within an area the size of an Olympic swimming pool. The companies said:

It's a challenge on the scale of attempting to control the movements of all the aircraft that fly in and out of London's Heathrow Airport in a day - but all at the same time and while they're circling around within a few kilometres of each other.

The system helps the company further reduce the need for human workers inside its vast customer fulfilment centres, where it packages shopping for delivery.

There's a pretty cool video showing the warehouse in action that you can see here but here's a snippet of the automated warehouse in action:

"It was clear early on that no technology existed which would do what Ocado needed," said Tim Ensor, head of connected devices at Cambridge Consultants, which has one of the world's largest independent wireless development teams, in a statement.

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Ocado/Cambridge Consultants

Inside the automated Ocado warehouse.

"That meant they needed to create a completely custom solution to achieve the required performance - but do so in a way that had a manageable risk profile and in the minimum amount of time. They engaged us to help them achieve this."

Not only does it maximise warehouse efficiency for Ocado - it could transform warehouses across the globe. In fact, Ocado is selling the system to other international retailers.

"As well as logistics, the system could potentially be used to control fleets of semi-autonomous vehicles at sites such as factories, construction sites and airfields. Ocado is the intellectual property owner and has filed a number of patents for this new technology," Ocado said.

In fact, one of the patents looks similar to one Business Insider wrote about in May last year.

Ocado posted an incredible set of numbers earlier this month, with profits soaring 65% year-on-year and gross revenue rocketing 15% to over £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion).

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