Onward Robotics announced at MODEX 2024 its Pyxis technology, which orchestrates mobile robots and human pickers as independent workflows to optimize order fulfillment. The company needed a reliable way to manage data for perception and localization, so it partnered with RGo Robotics Inc.
RGo has developed the Perception Engine software, which uses computer vision, sensor fusion, and artificial intelligence to enable mobile robots to perceive their surroundings. Founded in 2018, the company recently integrated NVIDIA Isaac into its development platform.
Founded in 2012, Onward Robotics spun out of Carnegie Mellon University’s National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC). As IAM Robotics, it developed the Bolt autonomous mobile robot (AMR) and Swift mobile manipulator for goods-to-person (G2P) piece picking.
The Pittsburgh-based company also offers the Lumabot AMRs and the Pyxis software for orchestrating warehouse workflows. After the COVID-19 pandemic and a brief time in “stealth mode,” it reemerged as Onward Robotics with the Meet Me software for person-to-goods (P2G) workflows.
Onward Robotics needs precision to optimize fulfillment
For Pyxis to coordinate people and Lumabots under its Meet Me approach to fulfillment, Onward Robotics wanted to share maps among robots. It also needed more robust localization for navigation than what laser scanners offered.
RGo Robotics said it provides a standard application programming interface (API) for localization, 3D obstacle detection, and object recognition. Perception Engine can affordably improve performance for AMRs, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), service robots, and outdoor systems, claimed the company, which has offices in Cambridge, Mass., and Caesarea, Israel.
“A flexible and adaptable perception engine is a critical piece of the Onward solution that allows our customers to achieve business success,” said Lance VandenBrook, president and CEO of Onward Robotics. “Partnering with RGo enabled us to push the boundary of accuracy in our localization and navigation, allowing us to focus on other differentiated features within our overall solution.”
RGo enables VNA operations, accelerates time to market
Onward Robotics said RGo Perception Engine allowed its AMRs to operate in very narrow aisle (VNA) environments, as the 3D localization enabled precise operations.
“RGo Perception Engine enabled us to sell and deploy in places we could not before, like in fulfillment centers with repetitive and narrow aisles, meeting demanding uptime requirements set by customers,” said VandenBrook.
“Seamless human-robot interaction is the foundation of the Onward solution,” he added. “With RGo’s perception solution, we were able to achieve it. The performance and behavior of our robots is not impacted by the frequent movement of humans around them.”
RGo also provided consistency and enabled safe operations in dynamic environments, according to Onward.
“With RGo’s Perception Engine, we are able to operate even in very narrow aisles, meeting the maximal error level required to operate very close to the shelving units as humans walk by,” VandenBrook said. “RGo’s solution enables our robots to move in complex, real-life environments, with precise localization, and high reliability.”
Last but not least, RGo Perception Engine helped Onward Robotics bring its Lumabot to market faster.
“Working with RGo allowed us to release the solution in record time,” noted VandenBrook. “It saved years of in-house development and allowed us to focus our resources on our differentiating features.”
“The integration of RGo’s Perception Engine into the Lumabot platform was fast and efficient,” he said. “The RGo team brought to the table knowledge and expertise that helped us build a reliable and competitive solution.”