Bishop-Wisecarver, a leader in industrial automation for over 70 years, announced Douglas Ortiz from Pittsburg High School as the winner of the 2024 Bishop-Wisecarver Innovation Award. Douglas was recognized for designing the Robotic Operator Forklift Friend (ROFF), a ceiling-mounted, self-operating forklift to improve warehouse efficiency. Douglas and Pittsburg High School will receive a cash prize for the winning design.
PITTSBURG, Calif. , Feb. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Bishop-Wisecarver, a trusted industrial automation company and leading manufacturer of motion solutions for over 70 years, is excited to announce that Douglas Ortiz, a high school student from Pittsburg High School in the Pittsburg Unified School District in California, is the winner of the 2024 Bishop-Wisecarver Innovation Award. Douglas earned this recognition for designing an innovative Robotic Operator Forklift Friend (ROFF)—a ceiling-mounted, self-operating forklift designed to streamline warehouse operations. Douglas will receive a $250 cash prize, with an additional $1,000 awarded to Pittsburg High School.
The Bishop-Wisecarver Innovation Award celebrates outstanding young students who demonstrate creative problem-solving and budding engineering talent. Automation is transforming industries globally, and Douglas' winning design stood out for its innovative approach to optimizing warehouse operations. Since its launch in 2020, Bishop-Wisecarver's design contest has provided local students with real world learning experiences that help prepare them for future academic and career success.
Ortiz's design, the ROFF, offers a practical and impactful solution for warehouse automation. The ceiling-mounted forklift system features a 20-ft robotic arm that travels along a horizontal track to retrieve and restock pallets from backrooms and upper storage levels without taking up valuable floor space. To complement the ceiling-mounted system, Douglas also designed a floor-based ROFF, equipped with a swivel base and QR code scanner, allowing it to upload new products into inventory and transport items to designated storage areas. Together, these systems demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of process improvement and operational efficiency.
"I was thinking about how so many ideas are dismissed because they seem 'silly,' but just because something might be fanciful or unusual doesn't mean it can't also be useful" says Ortiz. "With the ROFF, I wanted to go beyond just making warehouses faster or more efficient—I wanted to create something that could make the community more comfortable and improve the overall experience."
Beth Traub, Ortiz's robotics teacher, emphasized the educational value of these projects, noting how they encourage students to think beyond the classroom and apply their skills to real-world challenges.
About the Innovation Design Contest
The design contest, launched on October 4, 2024 during Bishop-Wisecarver's annual Manufacturing Day event, challenged students to design a system or piece of equipment leveraging the unique capabilities of an 8th-axis robotic system to solve a real-world problem in industries like manufacturing, healthcare, space exploration, and entertainment. Students presented their ideas through a 60-second video and detailed drawings. Designs were judged on innovation, originality, and executability.
"We were amazed by the level of creativity and innovation displayed by our local students this year," said Pamela Kan, President of Bishop-Wisecarver. "Douglas' winning design truly captures the spirit of innovation that will shape the future of automation. This contest reflects our commitment to inspiring and encouraging the next generation of thinkers and inventors."
In addition to Douglas' achievement, Bishop-Wisecarver would like to extend honorary mentions to Rio Danielle A. Maneclang and Marko Taylor also from Pittsburg High School and Gabrielle Love from Ygnacio Valley High School for their innovative contributions to the competition.
About Bishop-Wisecarver:
Bishop-Wisecarver's proven motion solutions are expertly designed and delivered to perform, enabling customers to solve their toughest industrial automation challenges. Leveraging over 70 years of experience, the WBENC certified woman-owned company has earned the reputation of providing unmatched quality, reliability, service and engineering support for every stage of a customer's design cycle. Combining long-lasting performance with ease of installation, Bishop-Wisecarver products offer the lowest cost of ownership for a wide variety of applications ranging from Aerospace to Medical to X-Y-Z systems and more. No matter the application or extreme environmental conditions, Bishop-Wisecarver designs innovative solutions from concept to completion, from prototype to production, on time and on budget.
Media Contact
Maggie Cibils, Bishop-Wisecarver, 1 925-439-8272, [email protected],
SOURCE Bishop-Wisecarver
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