March 1, 2024
In the latest episode of Click Connect Drive: A Phantom Auto Podcast, Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas & Phantom Make Forklift Driving a Desk Job, host Tyler Kern talked with Brian Markison, Senior Manager of AGV Partner Sales for Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas, and Elliot Katz, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer for Phantom Auto. We join them as they describe how Phantom Auto and MLA have formed a partnership that is transforming the face of the industry and the ways employees interact with forklifts.
Phantom Auto and Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas have formed a partnership that will "offer forklifts that can rove around a warehouse in California, controlled by workers sitting at a desk a continent away."
A common skepticism expressed about the new concept of remotely operating material handling equipment is whether forklift operation can really become a job that is done from behind a desk. According to Markison, the team at MLA, who owns UniCarriers, a popular manufacturer of material handling equipment around the world, believes the answer is a resounding yes.
Host Tyler Kern and the duo dove headfirst into the nature of the partnership and discussed how teleoperation is being implemented onto the warehouse floor, where it’s set to drastically revolutionize the way organizations operate across a wide range of industries. The topics covered ranged from safety to labor retention and the driver shortage problem that is broadly affecting the logistics industry since the start of COVID-19.
“We are honored to be working directly with Mitsubishi Logisnext,” Katz said. “[We’re going to] integrate our software, leverage their dealer network for service and maintenance, have Phantom-powered forklifts built and shipped straight from the Logisnext factory floor, and deploy our solution to existing Mitsubishi Logisnext customers. “Our customers are chomping at the bit to get involved.”
You can listen to the entire episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify or watch the video recording on YouTube.
About Phantom Auto
Phantom Auto specializes in remote operation of all logistics vehicles. Phantom’s human-centric interoperable solutions enable people to remotely supervise, assist, and drive vehicle fleets from up to thousands of miles away – including forklifts, robots, trucks, and more. By decoupling labor from location, the company increases labor access and retention, safety, productivity, and resilience across the supply chain. With Phantom, supply chain operators can tap into drivers from anywhere — connecting people who want to work with jobs that need to be filled. The company’s proprietary software delivers secure, low-latency communication over volatile wireless networks for reliable sensor streaming and safe vehicle control. For more information about Phantom, visit www.phantomauto.com.
