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“You really need to develop a whole product solution—hardware, software, UI, interfaces, and process redesign—with a consideration for what problem you are really trying to solve.” —Aldo Zini
Getting large teams of robots to collaborate is the work of Dr Regis Vincent, who envisions applications that include mapping nuclear contamination.
What obstacles remain for robots to work alongside humans in industrial settings, and how far have we come in eliminating those challenges? Dr. Roland Menassa answers these and other questions in his presentation at the RoboBusiness summit November 2-3 in Boston.
John Reid, director of Product Technology and Innovation at Moline Technology Innovation Center, a part of John Deere’s Global Technology Innovation Network, discusses how his company’s technologies will help feed the world’s billions.
Mark Ingebretsen
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robotics industry
New Seekur Jr Unmanned Guided Vehicle (UGV), from MobileRobots Inc, jump-starts industry-of-the-future inventions like self-driving cars, soldier-following carts, fruit-picking wagons and teams of reconnaissance scouts. Before Seekur Jr, roboticists needed to jerry-rig a standard vehicle, build their own, or seek the rare six-figure grant to buy a typical UGV. Seekur Jr changes all that.
This is not the first time MobileRobots succeeded in advancing research while growing the robotics market. Back in 1995 when the company was founded, most researchers had to build any robot they wanted to study. With luck, the device held together long enough to test. MobileRobots introduced the sturdy Pioneer robot at 10% the cost of other ready-made platforms. Suddenly, tens of thousands of students could study robotics and focus on advancing knowledge instead of fixing robots. Robotics research took off!
Designing an affordable robot for various weather conditions (IP 54, from -5 to +35°C), 45-degree grades and variable terrain was only possible by starting from tested technologies from the original Seekur and MobileRobots’ other platforms. Seekur Jr’s 0.8 X 1m size eases storage and transport, crucial for robot teams. Seekur Jr’s field-swappable batteries mean no wasted hours waiting for robots to charge. Seekur Jr users also benefit from MobileRobots powerful software architecture and tools that ease integration and programming.
Seekur Jr offers many accessories: MobileRobots Outdoor Autonomous Guidance System (MOGS) with GPS and laser-rangefinder, MobileRanger 3-D TOF camera and C3-D Stereovision obstacle avoidance. Seekur Jr can carry up to two arms and many cameras, as well as multiple PC’s to support processing-intensive applications.
Says Project Manager Seth Allen, “We designed Seekur Jr to maximize the performance-cost ratio. Since more researchers can afford Seekur Jrs, they’ll develop robot applications more quickly, which will create new industries and jobs more quickly to re-build the economy. It’s a win all around.”
About MobileRobots Inc
MobileRobots Inc (http://www.mobilerobots.com) has made jobs easier for 14 years with thousands of robot platforms and autonomous cores worldwide. MobileRobots helped jumpstart global robotics growth with affordable, general-purpose Pioneer robots in 1995. Now MobileRobots provides autonomous navigation solutions with Motivity autonomy to VARs and OEMs. The company operates from a 35,000 sq ft facility in Amherst, NH, 50 minutes north of Boston.
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