Automatic Cargo Inspection (ACI) is a non-intrusive warehouse automation technology for Quality Control. With the help of Automatic Cargo Inspection, logistics companies accelerate inspection operations with no changes to existing workflows. Our team has put together computer vision with AI models to accelerate inspection operations, make human participation efficient and capture all the cargo data your business needs.

Our standard features include:

• QR/Barcode scanning
• Capturing a 360-degree cargo view
• Cargo dimensioning
• Package type recognition
• Box and pallet count
• Cargo damage detection
• Comprehensive reports

As a business process automation tool, Automatic Cargo Inspection has a proven record of cost optimization. While business cases vary depending on the warehouse layout and type of operations, essential values stay the same for each implementation.

• 20–25% labour resource optimisation due to faster cargo intakes and automatic cargo data transfer into ERP or WMS;
• 95% claims and damage compensation elimination due to proof of evidence and detailed reports on damaged cargo;
• Significant operations acceleration due to uninterrupted handling, no dock area congestions and no double checks;
• Zero collected data input costs due to instant data push into WMS/ERP by shipment or order ID.

Overall, ACI aims to reduce the cost of human-coordinated cargo inspection operations by up to 75%, while making warehouse HR resource planning 25–30% more cost-efficient.

The total list of ACI capabilities is only limited by AI capabilities and imagination. Everything that a human eye can see is possible to capture and convert to data with the help of AI-powered computer vision.

ACI artificial intelligence models are capable to recognise cargo handling signs, read labels and convert them into text and identify suspicious cases by detecting stacking discrepancies and much more. With some additional training, ACI algorithms can be deployed for specific quality control cases like checking barrels or construction materials, counting number of items and checking goods quality. As mentioned above, ACI is an unlimited capability tool due to AI power and imaginative freedom.

Every logistics company checks cargo upon arrival or before shipping. Problem issues often originate from improperly made inspections, e.g. customers' dissatisfaction cases, missed discrepancies and compensations for damaged cargo occur mostly. So what exactly does ACI do?

Warehouses acquire huge advantages with ACI technology in place starting from the first day of usage. Let’s see why.

First of all, it saves significant time in the most critical warehouse operation - cargo inspection upon arrival or before shipping - and helps to optimise labour resources, avoid congestion in dock areas and overall smoothen workflow. Second, it provides a full range of cargo data that automatically flows into the existing ERP, WMS, or can simply be sent via email to the end client as a proof of evidence. Third, ACI technology has got warehouses covered by bringing proof of evidence for incoming and outgoing shipments.

Automatic Cargo Inspection makes all cargo checks within an inspection zone that can be drawn on the floor as a 3 x 3 meters square, as an example. The equipment is mounted at least 3 meters above the floor that makes all the inspection zones an imaginary cube with 3 meters side. The equipment set consists of cameras, wires and a small box and is easy to mount in any warehouse setting.

Basic requirements for equipment installation is an electricity and wired internet supply. Wireless internet connection(WiFi) is not recommended due to connection interruption issues and magnetic power field impact that occurs at warehouses due to a large number of chargeable and grid electric equipment.

Automatic Cargo Inspection currently has 2 setups: #SmartStand and #SmartGate.

#SmartStand is a metal construction with 4 cameras, QR/Barcode scanner and scales to be installed in a designated inspection zone. It perfectly suits Ground Handling operations at Airport Terminals, comprehensive checks for expensive commodities and compulsory acceptance inspections at customs bonded warehouses.

 #SmartGates is a lightweight frame with 3 cameras to be hanged 3 meters above the floor in the dock area for instant cargo check upon arrival. It is the most flexible solution on the market, that can be adapted to any given warehouse layout and fits various workflows from Cross-Docking Logistics Hubs to 3PLs and Retailer Distribution Centers

In regard to measurement precision, the majority of shipments dimensions comply with 1% dimensions’ measurement accuracy. Rare cases when the mistake rate can exceed 1% occur mostly due to specific objects with uneven borders or large size packages with more than 3 m by one side.

ACI technology for package recognition, damage detection models, box and pallet count are driven by AI-powered computer vision models which work by the simplest rule: the more cases you bring to the pipeline, the more accuracy it gets. We start with 80-85 % accuracy and level it up to 97-99 % within the first weeks of operation. Our AI models are constantly learning from multiple sources and we regularly update them to get warehouse teams covered by technology with zero effort from their side.

ACI technology is unprecedentedly easy to deploy in terms of users onboarding. It usually takes 1 hour to teach warehouse workers how to use the ACI technology after equipment is fully set-up. Other procedures like data flow integrations or reliability tests are done without interruption to current business workflows.

We are keen on the convenience of use for warehouse employees and provide a simple interface for everyday usage with no daily calibration or other maintenance tasks required. The Automatic Cargo Inspection team is constantly in touch with warehouse teams whose feedback is a crucial part for user experience and product tuning.