New autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) offered by Fetch Robotics and Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) promise to give a lift to users by providing rides to parts within factories.
FETCH ROBOTICS
Fetch has added CartConnect and RollerTop robots to its VirtualConveyor family of autonomous mobile robots for materials handling and transport.
"With the introduction of RollerTop and with CartConnect, what it really provides for us is the broadest family of autonomous mobile robots in the industry," said John Lau, director of product marketing. "The other positive is they're really quite fast to deploy. They are not particularly complicated because of the cloud-based platform that we have, our FetchCore platform, which is the software used for setting up, managing and monitoring all the activities."
Motorized conveyors on top of the RollerTop robots work seamlessly with fixed conveyor systems to hand off or receive materials, such as finished parts. The robots can move parts from one location to another without human intervention.
For example, RollerTop robots could be used to move finished plastic parts to an inspection station.
CartConnect AMRs pick up, transport and drop off carts within any warehouse or manufacturing location. CartConnect could be used to transport carts carrying parts or tools, for example, Lau said.
"The idea with CartConnect is, we're not asking warehouses and manufacturing facilities to significantly change their manufacturing processes," he said. "We are just looking to complement those existing processes with something that is automated. If they've already got a lot of carts in place, and that is how they are moving materials out to manufacturing lines or stations or that is how they are moving finished goods out to shipping, then we don't necessarily want them to change that. We are just providing a level of automation."
FetchCore, the company's cloud robotics platform, manages both RollerTop and CartConnect robots. FetchCore software deploys, operates, monitors and optimizes Fetch Robotics' AMRs across warehouse and manufacturing operations. With a simple click-and-drag interface, FetchCore allows warehouse managers to create and schedule workflows in minutes and to quickly create or modify mobile robot tasks and schedules.
To set up the system, an operator using a joystick must first walk the robot through the manufacturing facility or warehouse to map out the facility. The robot uses Lidar, a detection system that uses light to establish its location based on permanent markers in the environment.
The alignment system on the RollerTop robots is so precise the conveyor modules can repeatedly align to fixed conveyor systems to receive or hand off materials.
"When you are looking at the RollerTop solution, that requires the robot to reach a specific point with millimeter-level precision," Lau said. "We call that technology precision alignment."
Fetch robots also have a dynamic obstacle-avoidance system, which uses information from laser sensors and 3-D cameras to enable them to safely work around forklifts, according to the company.
MOBILE INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS
MiR describes its new MiR500 automated guided vehicle (AGV) as a collaborative AMR. Designed to safely move heavy payloads, it uses advanced technology and software to find the most efficient path to its destination. When it meets obstacles, it automatically reroutes itself. It can even navigate ramps and shallow water.
The robust robot can be programmed by users who have no prior experience. And, because the robot doesn't need wires, magnets or QR codes to navigate, users don't need to modify their facilities.
MiR offers a variety of optional modules that allow the MiR500 to perform specific tasks. For example, with the pallet-lift module, the robot picks up, transports and unloads pallets autonomously. Other modules include conveyors and robot arms. Users control the robot via smartphone, tablet or PC. The robot can use its laser scanners to create a map of its surroundings, or users can download CAD files of a facility to the robot.
Bruce Geiselman, senior staff reporter
Contact:
Fetch Robotics Inc., San Jose, Calif., 408-300-9056, www.fetchrobotics.com
Mobile Industrial Robots Inc.,
Holbrook, N.Y., 631-675-1838,www.mobile-industrial-robots.com
Bruce Geiselman | Senior Staff Reporter
Senior Staff Reporter Bruce Geiselman covers extrusion, blow molding, additive manufacturing, automation and end markets including automotive and packaging. He also writes features, including In Other Words and Problem Solved, for Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, Plastics Recycling and The Journal of Blow Molding. He has extensive experience in daily and magazine journalism.
