Robotic Storage Design

Pharmathek and Desall.com recently has announced new call for entries looking for the new design of the case of the Sintesi robotized warehouse and of the automatic loader Pharmaload, installed inside the pharmacies and developed to facilitate the pharmacist and her/his collaborators in the daily management of the medicines and their data.

Pharmathek is a company that designs, produces and installs robotic storage systems for pharmacies... Among the values ​behind Pharmathek solutions there are efficiency, speed and reliability. But even before that, flexibility: the Pharmathek robotic storage systems can be configured according to the needs of the individual company. This is why Pharmathek customers include not only pharmacies but also hospital pharmacies and medicine wholesalers. Guidelines:

• Product typology: the object of the contest is the case, that is the external enclosure, that covers the internal components of the Sintesi robotized warehouse and of the Pharmaload automatic loader. A peculiar feature of the robotized warehouse is its modular structure that enables to adapt it to the various contexts of installation, thanks to its modules and its customisable dimensions.

• How to use: the robotized warehouse enables the pharmacist and her/his collaborators to manage the medicines and their data, in an easy and automated way. In particular, there are four main modalities:
- Phase of medicine delivery for selling purposes: the pharmacist, through the pharmacy management software, sends the request to the warehouse for the products to be automatically collected by the robot and delivered to one of the delivery doors accessible to the operators;
- Phase of medicine delivery for warehouse management purposes: the operator sends the request from her/his position for the robot to automatically collect the medicine from the warehouse and deliver it at the dedicated exit service hatch, that constitutes the point of delivery;
- Assisted loading: the operator uses the dedicated scanner to read the product and places it on the conveyor belt, outside the hatch door for inserting the medicines. After verifying that the dimensions of the product match the target size, the warehouse opens the hatch door and moves the belt taking the product inside; then, the robot will automatically store it;
- Automatic loading (through Pharmaload): the operator pours the products to store in the hopper of the automatic loader and Pharmaload will provide automatically to identify, measure and take the products inside the warehouse where the robot will autonomously provide for their storage.

• Where to use: thanks to its modularity, the Sintesi robotized warehouse is able to adapt to any type and size of pharmacy, enabling the installation either on the back counter or in a separated room, either on the same level or at a higher or lower storey.

• Dimensions: for the purpose of the contest, keep into consideration a standard warehouse measuring 4m in length, 2,5m in height and 1,43m in width. The dimensions will be customised based on the client needs (look on th official website).

• Materials: the panels that constitute the external enclosure of the robotized warehouse may be realised in metal, wood or derivates, glass, plastics, even alternating different types of panels in order to offer a greater customisation for the pharmacist. Always keep into consideration a view of product industrialisation, avoiding processes or solutions not compatible with mass production.

• Interactive elements: for the purpose of the contest you are invited to include the following elements to enable the operators to interact with the system:

Robotized warehouse
- 1 operator station with screen (touch), space for a qwerty keyboard and mouse, barcode scanner, conveyor belt and hatch door for inserting the medicines, 1 emergency STOP button and 1 power switch;
- 1 entrance/exit door for the operator;
- 1 service exit hatch, to collect the medicines collected by the robot upon request of the operator (for ex. to collect the expired medicines or for other warehouse operations);
- 2 medicines delivery trays.

Pharmaload
- 1 hopper;
- 1 service compartment.

At your discretion you may make some changes to the size of the elements listed above to adapt them to your design idea; you are not required, though, to stylistically reinterpret the emergency STOP button and the power switch.

• Logo: you are invited to include the Pharmathek logo on the external enclosure of the robotized warehouse, making sure it receives proper visibility. For this purpose, organiser suggest you to place the logo near the operator station. You can use the vector file provided on the official website.

• Style and shapes: the design of the external enclosure of the robotized warehouse shall prioritise the use of clean lines, preferring a minimal and timeless style. Your project shall be characterised by a distinctive stylistic trait, that might provide added value with its uniqueness.
 The shapes shall be essential and clean, still providing some characterising element. It is fundamental that the design you suggest is versatile and able to adapt to the various configurations, thanks to the modularity and adaptability of the warehouse.

• Colours: for the purpose of the contest you are invited to show in at least one view the warehouse in a white standard or neutral shade. You are nevertheless free to suggest some colours variants based on your project idea, both for the panels and for some details, in order to show the great degree of customisation of your project.

• Surface finishes: if provided by your project, make sure that any possible surface finish enables a practical cleansing of the external enclosure.

• Customer typology: the system of the robotized warehouse addresses the pharmacy industry and provides for the interaction with various typologies of user, including pharmacists, sales people or warehouse workers.

• Values to convey: the design of the external enclosure shall fully reflect the values of the brand, always keen on the technological research and innovation, supported by a long experience in offering highly functional and customised solutions for the final customer.

Submission requirements:

Upload all the images that better present your projects and preferably provide further materials (.DWG, .STP, .AI or .PDF files, etc.) inside a .ZIP archive.

Participants can present one or more projects, but only the projects published on the www.desall.com web site, via the upload page related to “Robotic Storage Design” will be accepted.

All texts provided with your uploads (abstract, description, tags, etc.) should be written in English.

Evaluation criteria:

• Functionality/usability
• Aesthetics
• Technical feasibility
• Economic sustainability
• Modularity and versatility

There is no entry fee to participate!

It's free to enter!

This competitio is open to designers and creative talents of any nationality aged 18 years or older.

The 1 st prize winner will recive €4.000

For the duration of the option right, the Sponsor offers an extra chance to all participants setting a fee of Euro 2,500 for the purchase of the license for the economical exploitation of the projects not-acknowledged as the winning proposals.