- Autonomous mobile robots
- Business challenges
- Buy decision
When is it better to buy a robotics system solution?
Is time-to-market a critical factor limiting the success of your autonomous robot? Are you concerned about having to sacrifice functionality to meet deadlines?
If these are relevant to your business, then consider whether to buy hardware or software instead of developing another proprietary system.
There are advantages to creating all proprietary systems. Though when increasing speed is a priority, purchasing a solution is a better option.
Discover four benefits of purchasing an obstacle detection or pallet detection system below. Explore the available options and determine the steps required to achieve a successful integration.
Four reasons to buy obstacle detection or pallet detection systems
Increased development capacity
Buying a solution allows you to leverage the vendor’s expertise and resources when developing an AMR without straining internal capability. If obstacle detection or pallet detection is not part of your core intellectual property, then it is difficult to justify the time and resources to develop and maintain these systems.
Reduced long-term maintenance risks
Buying the right obstacle detection solution alleviates the risks associated with developing new processors, updating the system, and addressing new problems that arise. You benefit from an updated, bug-free system without spending development resources maintaining it.
Enhanced value to the customer
Purchasing an innovative, off-the-shelf obstacle detection or pallet detection solution can be the differentiator that generates more sales for your company.
It can be difficult to further reduce the cost of a mobile robot. Instead, increasing throughput capabilities leads to thousands of dollars in savings for your customers.
An obstacle detection solution that reduces unplanned stops and a pallet detection system with more accuracy than your competitors improves overall fleet efficiency.
Accelerating AMR development by outsourcing obstacle detection
How do you integrate a third-party obstacle detection solution into your autonomous mobile robot development? Here are the basic steps to follow to choose a vendor, develop a plan, and execute it:
Preparing to buy an obstacle detection system
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Time-to-market requirements: If rapid deployment is critical, purchasing an obstacle detection solution can significantly accelerate this timeline.
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Resource allocation analysis: Determine how much time and labor capacity are currently devoted to tasks that could be outsourced by purchasing a third-party system.
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Risk assessment: Understand the potential challenges of maintaining a proprietary system compared to outsourcing it. This should include considerations of technological obsolescence, compatibility issues, and resource allocation.
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Cost-benefit analysis: This analysis should include direct costs, potential savings in labor and time, and the indirect benefits of staying on the bleeding edge of technology.
Evaluating vendor options
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Find the right vendors: Research and choose vendors who have a track record of overcoming common technical challenges such as floor segmentation and false positive mitigation.
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Vendor reliability evaluation: Look for vendors who have a reputation for continual development and customer support.
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Integration strategy: Ensure compatibility and plan for any necessary adaptations in your robotics platforms.
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Maintenance and system update planning: Understand your vendor's system update and maintenance schedules. Plan how these updates will be implemented in your systems with minimal disruption.
Implementing the obstacle detection system
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Training and knowledge transfer: Leverage advanced features and capabilities of the system by investing in training for your engineering team.
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Feedback loop establishment: Create a feedback mechanism with your vendor for continuous improvement and customization based on your specific needs and experiences.
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Leverage vendor expertise: Utilize their expertise to streamline the integration process and troubleshoot any issues that arise during implementation.
Collaborative partnerships can involve joint development efforts, customizations, or extended support to ensure the solution aligns with your robotic systems and future plans.
Does the option to buy exist?
Until recently, purchasing a solution was not feasible. Developers had no choice but to create their own obstacle detection and pallet detection systems. While 3D cameras and basic recognition systems were available, none truly addressed the specific needs of autonomous mobile robots.
At best, developers could find a few components. But, integration often still required too much processing power and left significant problems for developers to solve.
With ifm’s multi-modal camera systems and software solutions, it is now possible to purchase a solution off-the-shelf.
ifm has leveraged decades of experience in automation and perception to develop solutions tailor-made to address the problem statements of modern robotics.
These solutions are all-in-one packages that use open software and the most common programming languages to make integration fast and easy. The edge compute design drastically reduces the amount of processing power it requires from your core processor.
<< Why AMRs haven't reached mass adoption | Creating an obstacle detection system >>
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Ready to learn more about accelerating your robot development?
Fill out our form or contact Tim McCarver directly at tim.mccarver@ifm.com.