Douglas Ortiz wins for his Robotic Operator Forklift Friend (ROFF), a ceiling-mounted, self-operating forklift that optimizes warehouse efficiency, showcasing the next generation of engineering talent.
Image Courtesy: Public Domain : Douglas Ortiz, Student at Pittsburg High School in California and winner of the Bishop-Wisecarver Innovation Award
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.