Elly Yates-Roberts |
Software company Blindspot Solutions is transforming logistics with principles from 1980s game Tetris. More efficient use of container space has helped the firm’s customers reduce the costs and carbon emissions of transporting goods.
Blindspot helps companies pack production parts into pallets, which are then similarly aligned onto large cargo containers. “They have different widths, heights and weights and cannot be simply stacked on top of each other,” said Štěpán Kopřiva, technical director of Blindspot Solutions. “There has to be a system in it. So yes, it's a little 3D Tetris.”
The firm’s application – called Optikon – enters all necessary parameters, for example, specific parts and in what quantities they will be transported. The system then uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to model how the pallets should stack on top of each other. “The goal is to make the most of the container's capacity,” said Kopřiva. “The more efficiently you can do this, the more you save on transport costs and carbon dioxide.”
Since the end of 2019, Czech car manufacturer Škoda has been using the solution in its logistics centre. According to Kopřiva, the application can save the firm up to 800,000 euros a year. As a result, Blindspot Solutions won Microsoft’s Digital Transformation Award in 2021.