NEC Develops Autonomous Mobile Robot Control Technology that Doubles Efficiency While Maintaining Safety
January 28, 2022 | ACN NewswireEstimated reading time: 1 minute
NEC Corporation announced the development of a control technology that doubles the efficiency of autonomous mobile robots (AMR) in warehouses while maintaining a high level of safety. NEC plans to put this technology into practical use by March 2024 and to have it installed in NEC's cooperative AMRs in Japan.
Overview of the autonomous mobile robot control technology
In recent years, the introduction of robots for transporting materials has accelerated due to labor shortages and large warehouses. However, even when robots have been introduced to automate transport work, it has been necessary to reduce traveling speed to ensure safety, and the improvement of transport efficiency has become a challenge. Since it has been necessary to construct passageways and areas dedicated to mobile robots in order accelerate speed while ensuring safety, it has been difficult to introduce robots into existing warehouses.
However, NEC has developed "risk-sensitive stochastic control technology"(*) that can control autonomous mobile robots and meet safety demands. This has been accomplished by utilizing models that can express uncertain factors that vary from one site to another, such as sensor measurement errors and differences between simulation results and actual robot movements. Moreover, this new technology has adopted methods that have been used in actuarial finance.
As a result, robots can autonomously determine when to travel at high speed, and over the shortest distances, such as when traveling in low risk locations without workers, objects on the floor or other obstacles. Conversely, robots will travel at a low speed when using routes that are determined to be high risk locations. When comparing transport work between a robot applying this technology and a conventional robot, it was confirmed that the work time was halved and the transfer efficiency could be doubled while ensuring safety. In addition, safety and efficiency can be achieved without dedicated robot areas, making it easy to install in existing warehouses.
Going forward, NEC will continue to develop these technologies through on-site demonstration experiments, aiming for their early installation in autonomous mobile robots for a wide range of industries.
Suggested Items
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
05/10/2024 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineSpring is a renewal each year as dormant flora bloom, and baby ducklings and geese are ever present in local bodies of water. Even though it is beginning to get hot, I love this time of year in Arizona, with the sun waking me around 5 a.m. It fills me with an energy that I often lose in the dark winter months. Wherever you find yourself in the world, I hope you are enjoying Spring and that you are filled with energy and enthusiasm for all the great work part of our daily lives in this industry.
Samsung Acquires Sonio; Strengthens Position in Cutting-Edge Medical Devices
05/10/2024 | SamsungSamsung Medison, a global medical equipment company and an affiliate of Samsung Electronics, today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Sonio SAS, a fetal ultrasound AI software company.
Schweizer Receives Future Prize from Ewald Marquardt Private Foundation for p² Pack Embedding Technology
05/10/2024 | Schweizer Electronic AGAs the number of electric vehicles increases, so do the demands on electrical power management in vehicles. To make power generation and engine operation more efficient, Schweizer Electronic AG's p² Pack technology offers a long-term and sustainable solution to better convert and even recover the energy generated.
MKS’ Atotech to Participate in ECTC
05/10/2024 | MKS’ AtotechAt this year’s 74th IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC), MKS’ Atotech will present and demonstrate its latest product and service innovations.
TTM Technologies Appoints Wajid Ali to Board of Directors
05/10/2024 | TTM Technologies, Inc.TTM Technologies, Inc. announced that Mr Wajid Ali has been appointed by the unanimous vote of the remaining Directors to serve as a new Class I director on the Board, effective immediately.