BlueCrest introduces OttoMate, a collaborative robot, which aims to increase productivity and reduce labor-intensive tasks in mailrooms

BlueCrest recently unveiled OttoMate, its first collaborative robot, which is engineered to work alongside human workers to automate various tasks in the mailing industry.

In response to prevailing labor challenges in the mailing market, which include high turnover rates causing disruptions in recruitment, BlueCrest developed OttoMate.

“With the introduction of OttoMate, we hope to leverage our intellectual property and industry know-how to bolster productivity on the client’s production floor,” BlueCrest Chief Technology Officer Steve Varga said in a release.

The initial offering is the OttoMate Trayer, which is designed to handle the labor-intensive task of moving finished mail from an inserter to a U.S. Postal Service mail tray and placing the tray onto a conveyor system.  

OttoMate is programable, helping workers with traditionally manually intensive tasks. OttoMate integrates with BlueCrest equipment control systems to allow for an efficient workflow, enhancing overall operational synergy.  By managing repetitive manual processes, the technology increases time management for workers to concentrate on other tasks.

Additionally, BlueCrest emphasizes the importance of refining specific processes such as tray filling, enabling businesses to increase the number of envelopes in each tray, overall improving productivity levels. 

Acting as a workplace companion, the robot executes tasks and remains operational around the clock. Its commitment to tasks ensures a continuous workflow, eliminating downtime and optimizing productivity for businesses.  

“As the world progresses towards the digitization of manufacturing, this transformation has become recognized as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (or Industry 4.0),” Varga said.  “By introducing OttoMate as a go-forward work cell automation platform, we believe we are enabling our clients to embrace and realize the benefits of Industry 4.0 methodologies within their own mail production environment.” 

BlueCrest is an original equipment manufacturer in postal, parcel, e-commerce and customer communication businesses. Platinum Equity acquired Pitney Bowes’ production mail business and supporting software in 2018 for $361 million. The business was later rebranded BlueCrest.