Meet 'Little Orange', the cutest warehouse worker: Self-charging robots can sort 20,000 parcels an hour at a Chinese courier firm

By Tracy You For Mailonline 12:38 11 Apr 2017, updated 14:30 11 Apr 2017

The sorting robot carries parcels from the assembly line to departure gates
One of China's largest courier firms have started using them at a warehouse
A team of 300 robots can sort 20,000 parcels an hour or 200,000 parcels a day
Once it's fully charged, the adorable machine can work eight hours non-stop

A team of cute robots have become the hardest workers at one of China's largest courier firms.

The orange machines, each 7.5 inches (19cm) tall, took their posts at STO Express last November.

These 'Little Orange' robots follows a pre-set route and carries parcels from the assembly line to the corresponding departure gates for them to be sent to different parts of the world.

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Small but strong: Officially known as the HIKVISION intelligent sorting robot, the machine can carry up to 11 pounds and travel at a maximum speed of 9.8 feet (three metres) per second

Star robots: They have been billed as the 'cutest warehouse workers' after a video of them working at courier company STO Expressed appeared online

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In STO Express's warehouse in Linyi, Shandong Province, 300 'Little Orange' robots work together to sort 20,000 parcels an hour.

After a video of them working for the courier firm appeared online, the machines have been billed as the 'cutest warehouse workers' by media.

Compared to the traditional sorting method, these self-charging robots help the company save 70 per cent of manpower in the 21,000-square-foot warehouse.

The adorable workers are developed by HIKVISION, a Chinese digital technology company based in Hangzhou. They're officially known as the HIKVISION intelligent sorting robots.

According to the company, the robots not only increase the number of parcels handled per hour, they also improve the overall quality of the sorting process.

With more than 300,000 employees, STO Express is one of China's largest courier companies. Workers are pictured sorting parcels at the company's Jiujiang branch in November, 2016

A team of 300 robots can sort 20,000 parcels an hour or 200,000 parcels a day. They help STO Express save 70 per cent of manpower in the Linyi warehouse. Pictured, STO Express workers are working in the company's Jiujiang branch

A spokesman from HIKVISION told MailOnline: 'It would take workers five hours to sort the same number of parcels the robots sort in three hours.

'In addition, workers might make mistakes, handle parcels violently or become stressed and tired under high pressure.'

Measuring 18 inches (46cm) long, 15 inches (38cm) wide and 7.5 inches (19cm) tall, one 'Little Orange' worker weighs 26 pounds (12kg) and can carry a parcel as heavy as 11 pounds (5kg).

It travels at a maximum speed of 9.8 feet (three metres) per second, and finds its direction with the help of QR codes and its own camera.

The machine takes an hour and a half to charge. Once it's fully charged, it can work eight hours non-stop. It's been estimated that they are helping the Linyi warehouse sort 200,000 parcels a day.

Besides 'Little Orange' (third from the right), HIKVISION has also developed a warehouse robot (second from the right), a transferring robot (far right) and a parking robot (far left)

'Different delivery warehouse has different number of incoming parcels a day. In theory, as long as there is need, the robot can carry on working without stopping,' said the HIKVISION spokesman.

The sorting machines is one of the four 'intelligent mobile robots' HIKVISION has developed. It's the cutest and smallest.

Besides 'Little Orange', the company also has a warehouse robot, which can carry and transport half a tonne of goods; a transferring robot, which is designed to distribute goods between warehouses and production lines; as well as a parking robot which can allocate and move a vehicle to the best parking spot at a public car park.

JOBS THAT PAY LESS THAN $20 ARE AT RISK OF ROBOT TAKEOVER

In a recent McKinsey report, researchers analysed more than 2,000 work activities for over 800 occupations, looking at the amount of time spent on particular activities, and the feasibility of automating these tasks.

For jobs which involve performing predictable physical activities, the researchers say the feasibility of automation is roughly 78 percent.

The findings include:

59 percent of manufacturing activities could be automated. Within this field, the researchers say 90 percent of the activities of welders, cutters, solderers and brazers could be done by a robot.
73 percent of activities in food service and accommodations could be automated
53 percent of retail work could be automated; 47 percent of the salesperson’s job could be automated, while 86 percent of bookkeepers, accountant and auditing clerks has this potential

For jobs which involve performing predictable physical activities, the researchers say the feasibility of automation is roughly 78 percent, but this is not the only factor to be considered when determining which jobs could soon be taken over by robots

They also detailed the activities with low potential for automation:

Education
Healthcare, especially those which require expertise and direct contact with patients, like dental hygienist
'Knowledge work,' including management jobs

China Robots

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Small but strong: Officially known as the HIKVISION intelligent sorting robot, the machine can carry up to 11 pounds and travel at a maximum speed of 9.8 feet (three metres) per second

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Star robots: They have been billed as the 'cutest warehouse workers' after a video of them working at courier company STO Expressed appeared online

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With more than 300,000 employees, STO Express is one of China's largest courier companies. Workers are pictured sorting parcels at the company's Jiujiang branch in November, 2016

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A team of 300 robots can sort 20,000 parcels an hour or 200,000 parcels a day. They help STO Express save 70 per cent of manpower in the Linyi warehouse. Pictured, STO Express workers are working in the company's Jiujiang branch

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Besides 'Little Orange' (third from the right), HIKVISION has also developed a warehouse robot (second from the right), a transferring robot (far right) and a parking robot (far left)

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For jobs which involve performing predictable physical activities, the researchers say the feasibility of automation is roughly 78 percent, but this is not the only factor to be considered when determining which jobs could soon be taken over by robots

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