This platform looks like it's built with similar priniciples and technologies as some of the mobile medical robots and security robots we' ve covered before, but combining them in new ways.
NadineJ, Not sure I can answer your specific questions but here are key points that relate to those:
"Natural feature" navigation used to deliver goods throughout a facility. Uses sensor input to determine location within the environment.
Deployment time less than competing technologies. Users map the area of operation. Claim is that "productive operations can be implemented in as little as a fraction of a day" depending on size/complexity of layout.
After deployed, asset is capable of managing real-time changes in environment. This enables vehicle to handle "exceptions" which is key departure from traditional forms of navigation.
Technology like this can make it even easier and faster for online retailers to fill orders. It could even be used to help small retailers enter the online marketplace.
Any details on the up-front cost per sq ft associated with modifying any facility to use an AGV? What's the minimum facility size needed for this to be considered reasonable or cost effective?
One of the key concepts of this technology is its ability to map out the floor plan of the facility and and sense, learn and map its environment versus relying on beacons or magnetic strips in the floor. That feature might be useful in other vehicles but it is targeting the plant environment.
Good question Elizabeth. I too would like to have one if its being embeded or has the possibility to embed to a real vehicle. One quick question.. What sort of a distance does it carry signals for ?
Wow, this is really cool and a great application of this kind of technology and from the looks of the photo, they are quite sleek looking. And I imagine this is the kind of work that is painstaking for a human and could actually help a human worker be more efficient and do other things while the robot does the annoying part of the job. I also wonder if this kind of self-driving technology could have an application for self-driving cars?
For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
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For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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