Top tips for choosing a mobile robot | OMRON, Europe

In an age of short product lifecycles and an increasing demand for customised solutions, if you’re a manufacturer, you need to be very agile to remain competitive. For instance, you might need to make products down to a lot size of one as simply and cost-efficiently as in mass production; or to change or update your production line at short notice. One key solution is a greater co-operation between people and machinery, leading to improved efficiency and more flexibility in the design of the production line. At Omron, we’ve been focusing on how robots and machines can interact seamlessly. This will enable production runs to be altered quickly and easily to allow for fluctuating lot sizes, and will also reduce the need for workers to carry out repetitive tasks and heavy lifting. Simple tasks, such as transportation of materials, can be left to interactive machines that can understand (and therefore avoid) people’s movements. One example is a robot that can deliver packages to a fixed location whilst avoiding people or obstacles in its path. It identifies its own position by comparing the results from a laser scanner with an onboard map. So, if you’re considering tapping into the benefits of a mobile robot, what are the key issues you should consider? Here are five important questions you should ask:

1. Can it be rapidly installed and adapted?

Conveyors have been used for transporting goods at factories and warehouses for over 100 years. That was a great help when manufacturers were producing a large number of identical products every day for a long period. However, in today’s faster-paced markets, they are expensive to install and very difficult to modify when products or processes change. About a decade ago, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) were introduced as an alternative to conveyors for material handling. However, these still need a predefined path, using either magnets, lines on the floor, or beacons on the walls. Now there’s a more flexible solution, which uses the latest mobile robots, called Autonomous Intelligent Vehicle (AIV). These robots can move about more freely and can be easily reprogrammed for different tasks.

2. Can it work safely with people?

It’s essential that your mobile robot can work in the same environment as your workers and can even collaborate with them on tasks. You therefore need to ensure that it has the most advanced and appropriate technology, so that it can move safely around people. You should also check whether it complies with domestic and international safety regulations.

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3. Can it work collaboratively in a fleet?

In most cases, several mobile robots will be working within a production facility. They must be able to work together well – so you’ll need a fleet management system that will automatically allocate tasks to each robot in the most efficient way to maximise your investment. This should enable you to minimise the number of robots needed by coordinating them so that they share the tasks. The fleet management system manages two key elements:

• It controls the traffic so that the mobile robots don’t block each other’s paths or wait too long for another robot to pass them.
• An effective system will allocate the tasks efficiently and can even plan ahead and predict which nearby robot will be available to work on the next job. It’s important to manage the time needed for each robot to recharge its battery, to ensure that the work isn’t interrupted during peak times.

4. Can it be easily adapted to meet your specific needs?

Mobile robots must be able to be adapted for different types of jobs. For example, a robot might be used to move items from a pick-up location to a drop-off location. It might then need to attach itself to a movable cart and transfer that from one place to another. Similarly, if it has a collaborative arm, it might be used to pick up individual items. Or it might be deployed so that it can receive items and load them onto a conveyor belt. Therefore, it’s important that it can be easily customised to meet your differing needs.

5. Can it run reliably worldwide?

Once you’ve successfully installed a mobile robot system at one of your facilities, you might want to duplicate this in other worldwide locations. If so, you might want to purchase the robots locally and get professional help with their implementation and with technical support after the installation. Your vendor can play an extremely valuable role in helping you to combine their mobile robots with other automation equipment – such as arm robots, controllers and switches. This will enable you to create a total solution for your company.

This article, originally published on June 15, , has been updated with current information.

The following is paid content sponsored by Robotex.

By Police1 BrandFocus Staff

Tactical robots have long since transcended the realm of sci-fi movies to become standard operational tools for SWAT teams, much like firearms and body armor. Robots of all types have proven to be indispensable to SWAT teams, particularly in their ability to safely capture video and audio for improved situational awareness.

Before choosing a tactical robot for your SWAT team, ask these questions to ensure you’re getting your money’s worth.

1. Does it provide two-way voice capabilities?

One of the most important features of a tactical robot is its ability to not only capture audio of an incident, but also to enable SWAT officers to communicate with suspects using two-way communication, said Sgt. Chris Boyd, Carlsbad (Calif.) Police Department. Boyd also is an onsite trainer for Robotex’s Avatar II, a self-propelled mobile surveillance and two-way communication tactical robot used at his police department.

Boyd said it is critical a tactical robot has two-way communication systems as it helps the officer clandestinely gather audio intelligence while an incident unfolds and then intervene with voice commands once the situation is assessed.

His department’s tactical robot has a two-way communication system that uses wireless, short-range communication to broadcast commands. This lets officers communicate with a suspect based on the situational awareness gathered, ranging from letting the suspect know he or she is surrounded to negotiating terms of surrender.

2. Does it have near-real-time video capabilities?

Video is crucial in helping a SWAT team acquire near-real-time situational awareness without risking an officer’s life.

An effective tactical robot lets users control the pan-tilt-zoom camera functions with a remote controller in order to move the camera to look around corners and see the full picture of an incident. Boyd said having a pan-tilt-zoom feature on tactical robots is a game changer for SWAT teams as the officer can stay a safe distance away while still gathering intelligence.

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“They can gain situational awareness from a position of safety behind hard cover versus exposing themselves,” he said.

3. Can it handle various types of terrain?

Crime doesn’t happen in one location. Almost all departments respond to some sort of urban environment—from a three-story apartment complex or a massive skyscraper to a natural environment like a field or a farm.

In fact, good tactical robots are capable of operating in various terrains, including tricky surfaces like sand or grass. Equally important to confirm is whether a tactical robot has the ability to traverse stairs, too.

Boyd said the Carlsbad Police Department likes their tactical robot because it uses its rubber tracks to navigate diverse terrains. It also has high-angle stabilizer bar extensions that attach quickly so the robot can navigate stairs.

“This means you can operate the robot on stairs, in grass, dirt, concrete, marble, tile, on carpeting, and over barriers and obstructions,” he said.

4. Does it take long to deploy?

When a SWAT situation is identified, teams need to move quickly. Anything that takes more than a few minutes to deploy can be a real burden to operations.

Boyd emphasized the importance of having SWAT tools that are basically plug-in-play as it is important a tactical robot doesn’t hinder the timeliness of getting on scene and gathering intelligence. He said when their department deploys their tactical robot, it takes about a minute to deploy; a user inserts a battery into a side compartment, powers up the remote controller and the robot is operational.

“It is easy to use and ready to go as soon as the SWAT teams get on scene,” he said. “There is no delay to operations.”

5. Will it hold up?

Our robot was designed and built from the ground-up to withstand heavy-duty wear and tear. Drops, bumps, scratches, rough handling – the AVATAR will keep on going. The robot will even survive a 10 foot drop into concrete, and it can be fully submerged in water for up to 10 minutes with no problem. Our robots are built to last.

Asking these five questions first before making a purchasing decision can ensure you are getting the right tactical robot for your SWAT team.

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