Dual manipulator Rosie the robot used for Industry 4.0 research

Dual manipulator Rosie the robot used for Industry 4.0 research

Oct 8, 2024 | Case Studies, InDro News, Innovation, Scott Simmie

By Scott Simmie

 

At least some of you will remember The Jetsons.

The television series, created by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons Inc., was a space-age version of The Flintstones (another Hanna-Barbera production). It originally aired in 1962-1963 with later episodes created in a reboot from 1985 to 1987.

But while Fred Flintstone drove a stone-age car (complete with stone wheels) that he powered by pushing his feet along the ground, George Jetson and his family lived in Orbit City, where Jetson commuted to his two-hour per week job via a flying car with a bubble top. And instead of having dinosaurs (including pterodactyls) help carry out tasks, The Jetsons live in a future where they’re surrounded by automated devices. You could think of their surroundings as the 1960s vision of the Smart Home.

And an integral part of that home? Well, that would be Rosey (later changed to ‘Rosie’) the robot.

Rosey was the family’s robotic maid. She carried out tasks that weren’t performed by the many other automatic conveniences that filled the Jetson’s home. She had two manipulator arms and an internally stored vacuum that be deployed on demand.

She was very useful around the house, carrying out tasks to save the family time.

And this story? Well, it’s about our own Rosie – which is also very space-age.

Below: A Rosie the robot publicity cel, signed by show creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. The cel was auctioned in 2018; image by Heritage Auctions

Rosie the Robot from The Jetsons Heritage Auctions image

THE ROSIE STORY

 

So. What is Rosie? We asked Head of R&D Sales Luke Corbeth for a snapshot.

“Rosie is a dual arm mobile manipulation robot designed for pick and place in an industry 4.0 setting,” he says. In other words, it has two arms and manoeuvres on a wheeled platform, and is capable of moving objects from one location to another or even manipulating a single object with both end effectors.

And Rosie has a few tricks up her sleeve. Or, more accurately, sleeves.

“The actual robot is very unique because it has six mounting points for the arms. So you can mount the arms on top, high on the side or low on the side to access shelving of different heights. In fact, you could actually mount one arm directly on the top right, for example, and then mount the second one on the bottom left. So you could grab something from the top of the shelf and from the floor at the same time, which is kind of cool, right?”

Yes, indeed.

Rosie’s home is not with the Jetsons (she has no vacuum cleaner) but in a new lab that hasn’t yet been officially launched at Polytechnique Montréal. It’s called the Intelligent-Cyber Physical System Lab, or I-CPS. So we contacted Lionel Birglen, a professor with the Department of Mechanical Engineering. We wanted to learn more about what the lab does, what he does – and what plans he has for Rosie (which InDro built and shipped in 2023).

Dr. Birglen is a PhD Mechanical Engineer, with a specialisation in robotics. He’s particularly interested in – and an expert on – manipulators and end effectors and has designed and built them. He’s written two books, holds three patents, and is the author or contributing author of at least 94 research papers. He’s also – get this – been listed among the top two per cent most-cited scientists in the world in his area of specialisation.

So it kinda goes without saying, but he’s a pretty big deal in this field.

Dr. Birglen has a deep interest in the role robotics will play in the future of industry. And, within that realm, he’s intensely interested in ensuring that robots, particularly those that will be sharing space with human beings on a factory or warehouse floor, will be safe.

And – he emphasises – he doesn’t trust simulations for important work like this.

“Because simulations lie. They lie all the time,” he says. “You have to understand that reality is infinitely more complex than anything you can have in simulation – so actual experiments are absolutely essential to me. They are essential to my work, to my understanding of what robotic manipulation is.”

“I believe in math, but I know that reality is different. It’s more complex, more complicated, and includes so many un-modelled phenomena.”

 

ROSIE’S JOURNEY

 

Dr. Birglen knew he wanted a new robot for use in the new lab (which we’ll get to shortly). And he knew he wanted a robot with two manipulator arms.

“Dual-arm robots are, in my opinion, the future for industry applications,” he says.

And while humanoid bipeds grab a lot of attention, they’re far more complex (and expensive) than wheeled robots. Plus, he says, most factory applications take place on a single level and don’t require climbing stairs.

“From a factory perspective, a wheeled platform makes a lot of sense because typically in factories you don’t have, say, five levels connected by stairs.”

So he knew he wanted an autonomous, wheeled, dual-arm robot. And he started, initially, to think of a company other than InDro for the build.

“I came across InDro almost by accident,” he explains. “Giovanni Beltrame told me about you because he has purchased many, many robots from you. He said: ‘Those guys can build and assemble the robot for you. They’re close and they do a great job.’ So that’s how I came in contact with you.” (We’ve written previously about the amazing work Dr. Beltrame is working on involving robots and space. You can find that here.)

And so, after a number of calls with Luke Corbeth and the engineering team to settle on design and performance parameters, work on Rosie began.

Below: Technologist Tirth Gajera (‘T’) puts the finishing touches on Rosie in 2023

Rosie and Tirth T

THE LAB

 

Polytechnique Montréal’s Intelligent-Cyber Physical System Lab (I-CPS) is set up as a highly connected Industry 4.0 factory. Faculty from four different departments – computer engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering and mechanical engineering (Dr. Birglen) – are involved with the lab. Interns and students, under supervision, also work in the facility.

“So we have four departments involved in this lab and the idea is to build a small scale factory of the future, meaning that everything is connected. We are building a mini-factory inside this lab,” he says.

So think of cameras that can track objects on shelves – and people and robots within the environment. Think of smart tools like a CNC machine, which will eventually be operated by Rosie. And, perhaps just as important as the connectivity within the lab, is connectivity to other research institutes in Quebec, including Université Laval, Université de Sherbrooke and École de Technologié Supérieure (ÉTS). All of those institutes are working with similar mini-factories, and they’re all connected. There’s even a relationship (and connectivity) with manipulator manufacturer Kinova. Funding came via a significant grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, or CFI.

“So think of our lab as like one node of this network of mini-factories around Quebec,” explains Dr. Birglen. That connectivity of all components is still a work-in-progress, but “ultimately the goal is that there is a cyber-connection between these different mini-factories, these different laboratories around Quebec, so that one part of one node can work in collaboration with another node in realtime.”

Plus, of course, a lot of learnings will take place within the individual labs themselves.

“We want to bring collaborative robots to work in tandem with humans,” he says. “We want our robots to safely move around people, we want robots to help people. And we also want robots to learn how to work from people.”

 

SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY

 

As mentioned earlier, there’s a huge emphasis on safety. And while there are international safety standards for collaborative robots, even a ‘safe’ cobot can pose a threat.

“All the collaborative robots that you have currently on the market more or less follow this technical standard and they are more or less safe, but they’re still dangerous,” explains Dr. Birglen. “And the classical example that we’ve all heard, and which is true, is that if a safe cobot has a knife in its hand and is moving around – it is very dangerous.”

So safety in the lab(s) is paramount – and that means safety at multiple levels. There must be safety:

  • At the task level; you must not have tasks that could endanger people
  • Safety at the control level
  • Safety in terms of collision detection, mitigation, obstacle avoidance
  • Safety at the data security level

Plus – and this really interests Dr. Birglen – you must ensure safety with any additional mechanical innovations that are introduced.

“What you develop, any mechanical system you develop, must be as much as possible intrinsically safe. And actually that’s one of the topics I’m currently working on is to develop end effectors and tooling that is intrinsically safe.”

Below: A LinkedIn post from Luke Corbeth shows Rosie, using both arms, inside the I-CPS lab

THE FUTURE

 

And why is research like this so important? What difference will it make to have robots and humans working safely together, with safe manipulators and end effectors that might even be able to, for example, lift an object in concert with a human being? And why the focus on interconnectedness between all of these facilities?

Well, there’s obviously the value of the research itself – which will lead to greater efficiencies, improved manipulators, gripping technologies, new algorithms and AI enhancements – as well as enhanced safety down the road. But there’s a much bigger picture, says Dr. Birglen, especially if you can get your head around thinking about the future from a global perspective.

China, he says, is no longer a developing nation. The days when the words “Made in China” meant poor quality are – with rare exceptions – gone. The country is, in fact, highly developed – and working at breakneck speed when it comes to innovation and adoption of robotics at scale. A revolution is underway that has massive implications for competitive advantage that simply cannot be ignored. So the research at  I-CPS is not merely important from an academic perspective, it’s strategic when viewed through a global economic lens.

“We as a country – meaning Canada – are in competition with other countries for manufacturing, for producing goods and services. China is a developed country and it is very, very, very good in robotics,” he states. “You know how in the past we saw China as producing low quality goods, low quality robots? That’s over, man. That’s finished.”

And?

“If they are investing in robotics like mad and we are not, we’re going to be a leftover – Canada is going to sink as a rich country. If you want to produce wealth in the 21st Century, you need robots, you need automation, you need integration. In short, you need to be the leader of the pack or you’re going to be eaten.”

It’s a stark warning – and it’s true.

I step outside as author and state this having lived in China back when it was still a developing country in the late 1980s – and having returned several times since then. The transformation has been nothing short of astonishing. How, you might ask, did it achieve all this?

The answer has its genesis with former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. who led the country from 1978 to 1989. He didn’t merely open the door to reform; he created policies that began sending waves of students from what had been a xenophobic country abroad to study. There was an emphasis on careers that could help modernise the nation, including all aspects of engineering, aerospace, construction, transportation, architecture, etc. That’s where all this began.

Thankfully (and with credit to federal funding agencies like CFI), there are projects like I-CPS underway – and academics like Dr. Lionel Birglen with the vision to push the needle safely forward.

Below: “Baxter” – the original dual-arm robot. Baxter is still at Polytechnique Montréal, but Rosie is the mobile future. Photo by Luke Corbeth

Baxter
Rosie

INDRO’S TAKE

 

We’re obviously pleased Polytechnique Montréal selected InDro to build Rosie. And we’re particularly pleased to see that she’s being deployed at I-CPS, as part of an integrated and networked research project that has such potentially profound implications for the future.

“I believe Dr. Birglen is correct in his assessment of the importance of robotics and automation in the future,” says InDro Robotics Founder and CEO Philip Reece. “And when you throw innovations with drones and even autonomous Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles capable of carrying large cargo loads and passengers into the mix, we are actually heading into a Jetsons-like future,” he adds.

“I think there’s a growing understanding of the implications of this kind of future from not only the private sector, but also federal regulators and funding agencies. At InDro our mission will always focus on continued innovation. Sometimes those innovations are our own inventions, but a key piece of the puzzle is R&D work carried out by academics like Lionel Birglen. We’re confident that Rosie’s arms are in the right hands.”

Interested in learning more about a custom robotics solution? Feel free to contact us here.

InDro clients Polytechnique Montréal featured on CNN with swarm research on ‘Mars’

InDro clients Polytechnique Montréal featured on CNN with swarm research on ‘Mars’

Oct 3, 2024 | Case Studies, In the media, Scott Simmie, Success Stories, Swarm Robotics

By Scott Simmie

There’s nothing quite as satisfying as seeing really good R&D in the field.

And when that research gets coverage from CNN? Well, that’s even better.

The news network just profiled some cutting-edge work being carried out by students at Polytechnique Montréal. Specifically, students who work in the MIST Lab – where that acronym stands for Making Innovative Space Technology.

We’ve profiled the work being carried out there before (you can find it here). Essentially, students are working on innovative robotics research they hope will one day prove useful on the moon and Mars.

“What we want to do is to explore environments including caves and surfaces on other planets or satellites using robotics,” explained Dr. Giovanni Beltrame (Ph.D.), a full professor at Polytechnique’s Departments of Computer Engineering and Software Engineering during our earlier interview. “Caves and lava tubes can be ideal places for settlement: They can be sealed and provide radiation shielding. There’s also a chance of finding water ice in them.”

The research certainly caught our attention – partly because the MIST Lab is an InDro client. We’ve supplied them with platforms and robots which they’ve enhanced with “backpacks” enabling swarm robotics research. Recently, they took a fleet of those connected robots to the Canadian Space Agency’s Mars Yard. The site has been built to replicate the surface on Mars – what’s known as a Planetary Analogue Terrain.

The mission? To have these interconnected robots autonomously map that surface in high-resolution.

Below: The Mars Yard. Photo by the Canadian Space Agency, followed by a pic of some of the robots InDro modified and supplied to Polytechnique Montréal

CSA Mars Yard
MIST

SWARM ROBOTICS

 

Fundamental to this research is deploying the robots in a swarm – where the robots carry out tasks autonomously while communicating with each other. In this experiment, they’re mapping that Planetary Analogue Terrain and compiling the data into a high-resolution digital twin.

“We absolutely believe that swarm robotics is the future of space exploration,” PhD student Riana Gagnon Souleiman told CNN. “It’s more efficient to have more robots and you’re less reliant on a single agent failing.”

We’ve written about swarm robotics before (and recently shipped a swarm to a US academic client). But this CNN story provides a full look at what the MIST Lab team has accomplished, modifying the robots with their own “backpack” for creating a local area network and meshing all that data.

In the video, which we’ll link to in a moment, you’ll see several of the 18 platforms InDro can supply. At the Mars Yard, you’ll see a Scout Mini, two Bunker Minis (seen in the photo above) and one Scout 2.0 – all working collaboratively.

The MIST Lab team has done an incredible job with modifying these robots and pulling off what we know is a very difficult mission. Kudos also to CNN for doing an exemplary job in explaining this story.

All set? You can watch the video here.

Below: Some of the MIST Lab researchers in a screen grab from the CNN story

GCXpo 2024: A stunning showcase of Smart Mobility

GCXpo 2024: A stunning showcase of Smart Mobility

Sep 27, 2024 | GCXpo, Industry News, Scott Simmie, Smart Mobility

By Scott Simmie

 

The third annual showcase of Canada’s Smart Mobility sector – formerly known as TCXpo – is a wrap.

Bringing together more than 80 companies from across Canada and abroad, more than 1500 attendees registered to see the latest and greatest innovations – some of them being shown publicly for the first time. Ground robots, drones, even agricultural equipment and demonstrations of new technologies – it was all on display at Ottawa’s Area X.O, a private facility where technology companies (including InDro Robotics) build and test innovative products on a daily basis.

This was the largest event so far – and that’s reflected in the title. It’s now called “GCXpo” – with the first two letters standing for Government of Canada (the previous “TC” stood for Transport Canada). It’s a reflection of the importance Canada puts on supporting this growing sector as companies develop new products and push toward commercialisation. And there are a *lot* of agencies and departments behind this event.

GCXpo is hosted by Area X.O and operated by Invest Ottawa in partnership with the Government of Canada and event sponsors, including:

“GCXpo Is truly about celebrating Canadian innovation, companies driving the smart revolution that are changing our country for the better,” said Invest Ottawa President and CEO Sonya Shorey during opening remarks. She also pointed out why Area X.O in the nation’s capital is such a fitting location: Ottawa per capita, has “the top tech talent concentration in all of North America.”

And GCXpo 2024 did not disappoint.

Below: A crowd watches as Matt Johnston, Assistant Test Integration Engineer with Lockheed Martin Skunkworks Calgary, demonstrates a drone that can fly (and land) in GPS-denied environments, followed by the drone in flight. All photos by Scott Simmie

A LOT TO SEE

 

With some 80 companies, government agencies, academic institutions and others at the show, there was a lot of ground to cover. And while the exhibits were underway, the CAVCanada Stage provided top-flight panels and keynotes on a wide range of topics.

InDro Robotics Founder and CEO Philip Reece took part in a panel entitled: “Creating the Cities of Tomorrow,” which looked at how municipalities and regulators can best work together to safely encourage the transition toward newer technologies.

‘I would say failing fast is a super important thing,” he said. “We started flying drones 10-12 years ago, when it was really new. And the answer to everything at the start was: ‘No, you can’t do that.’ So instead of accepting that, we basically brought them (Transport Canada) with us, and we’d say ‘What would it take to do this? How can we do this next step?'”

There were some failures, but with the regulator on site there was a joint understanding of why things had failed – and the willingness to work together to identify those points of failure and take another run at things. This helped both the company – and the regulator itself. And it ultimately led toward a new way of thinking – with both parties viewing themselves as partners with a common goal.

“It’s much better to invite them in – let’s (jointly) spur innovation forward,” said Reece.

Interestingly, as the move toward Smart Cities continues, there’s obviously a lot of adoption of AI technologies and research in that realm. Because those AI processors can use a lot of energy – and because AI-enabled devices are starting to become ubiquitous in our lives – Ottawa Hydro has noticed a surge in energy demands and has had to adjust its own resources to ensure it’s keeping up with the transition. This surge has also, presumably, been influenced by the increasing adoption of electric vehicles (which, in addition to charging, rely heavily on AI).

“Bringing on AI has a very different energy footprint, and it’s not just one section of the city we’re seeing that in – we’re seeing it throughout,” said Julie Lupinacci, Chief Customer Officer with Ottawa Hydro.

“We’re moving from a utility that was planning and building one substation every five years – to one every year. So these are very interesting and exciting times, but it’s very crucial to get this right for the future.”

Below: InDro Robotics CEO Philip Reece

FROST, FOG AND Electric vehicles

 

If you’re a Canadian who drives in the winter, you’ll know all about the challenges of frost and fog on your windshield. But you likely haven’t given much thought to the energy requirements it takes to de-ice or de-fog that windshield, particularly in electric vehicles (EVs).

But one Ontario company based in Oakville, Betterfrost Technologies, has given this problem a lot of thought over many years. And it has developed a solution for the problem that uses 10x to 20x less energy than traditional methods.

And how does it do that? Well, there’s an invisible layer in the windshields of most cars today that is used for passive cooling, by deflecting infrared rays. That same layer can be energised using rapid pulses of power to concentrate on melting the frost or ice right where at counts: At the point where it adheres to the windshield. The company has produced an algorithm that’s embedded on a small chip that can be added to pretty much any modern vehicle with a couple of wires. When that algorithm gets the energy pulsing at the right frequency and intensity, that boundary layer is quickly and efficiently melted, allowing for the easy physical removal of frost or ice.

“This was researched at New Hampshire’s Dartmouth College’s Ice Research Laboratory,” explains company co-founder and CTO Sameh Saad. “They looked at how ice attaches to surfaces and the best way to break that bond, between ice and any surface. Most of the stickiness of ice happens at the interface. So if you can melt the ice at the interface it will fall off with external force.”

And so the company developed an algorithm that ensures the heat only goes to that boundary layer – and isn’t wasted beyond.

“The pulsing gives us better control, so the heat doesn’t move as far. So even though the pulsing is high power, the way this works leads to low energy consumption,” says CEO Derrick Redding.

And it’s not just about EVs.

“The other application besides automotive is aerospace, where airplane wings or critical surfaces need to be clear of ice and frost before takeoff and during flight,” says Saad. “So this could be done using the same technology, using a polymer coating. And if we do automotive vehicles, we can do defence vehicles, bridge windows on ships – it doesn’t matter how thick the glass is. What’s important is that we can defrost it and defog it very quickly.”

The company has been around since 2015, and Better Frost Technologies is hoping its product may soon come standard on vehicles straight off the production line.

“We’re working closely with two car OEMs and one truck OEM, and that’s going very well,” says CEO Redding.

Below: CTO Sameh Saad, a mechanical engineer, with the company’s proprietary algorithm-embedded chip.

Better Frost Technologies CTO Sameh Saad

A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING

 

Though the overarching theme of the show is Smart Mobility, one of the joys of this event is the variety of companies showing off innovations you might not immediately associate with the sector but which are nonetheless both interesting and related. One such surprise was KTV Working Drone Ottawa, a company that uses a drone for high-rise window and facade cleaning. The company’s president, Gesummino Sala, explained he’d come across the idea of using drones for cleaning, and was thinking of starting his own drone company.

He then discovered Norwegian company KTV Working Drone already had such a product and was franchising it. In fact, it had operations in Halifax and Vancouver. Sala managed to secure the franchise for Ottawa (along with rights for a large portion of Ontario). He launched earlier this month.

“It’s been about a year in the making, but lots of preparation was needed for this,” he says.

The platform is a DJI M350 RTK, where that realtime kinematic sensor allows for very precise positioning. A hose attached to a spraying unit on that drone sucks up purified water (to 0 ppm) heated to 80° C and applies it directly to the windows of facade. Because of that hot, pure water – Sala says the building dries quickly and cleanly. He says the drone can loft that hose up to the Transport Canada ceiling of 400′ AGL, meaning it could clean a 40-storey building.

“The finish is spotless,” says Sala. “It’s safer, the building doesn’t get damaged from swing stages (which are used in traditional window washing operations), it’s more efficient, and it’s faster. Everybody’s interested; people who have heard about it want to see it.”

Below: KTV Working Drone Ottawa’s President, Gesummino Sala

RIDESHARK

 

When it comes to commuting, Smart Mobility doesn’t just mean autonomous vehicles (though there were plenty of those at GCXpo). It can also mean a smarter way of commuting that will eventually include self-driving cars. And that’s why an Ottawa-based company called RideShark was at the show. We asked President and Co-Founder Sharon Lewinson to give us the elevator pitch.

“RideShark is a multi-modal platform that helps people choose sustainable transportation options to reduce congestion, emissions, and improve quality of life,” she says.

And how does it do that? Well, with a very sophisticated mobile app.

“In one click, a person can enter their destination and it automatically gives them all their multi-modal transportation options: Carpool partners, transit options, bike buddies, shuttles…And then it has carpooling. People can book, pay and communicate all in-app.”

RideShark sells its SaaS platform to clients, and it’s then “white labelled” – meaning the app might bear the name and branding of a university, large corporation, or one of the many other institutions and sectors where it’s in use. The company secured Nortel as its first customer back in 2006. It’s grown a lot since then, and has multiple high-profile clients across North America.

Now, says, Lewinson, it’s time for the next step.

“We’ve been around a lot and now we’re looking to globally scale. We’re a partner with Invest Ottawa – they provide a lot of support. GCXpo is where the future is of what we call ‘unified mobility.’ With all the autonomous vehicles, ultimately they have to get people into those vehicles – and our technology will help with that.”

Below: A video explaining how RideShark works, followed by a photo of company president Sharon Lewinson.

Sharon Lewinson RideShark

THE NEXT GENERATION

 

Innovation is on a stellar trajectory. With the accelerated use of AI and related technologies, the breakthroughs just keep on coming. So it’s worth noting that many educational institutes were at GCXpo, along with government agencies and accelerators that help fund startups to encourage continued innovation.

We stopped briefly at the Algonquin College booth, partly to let them know we’d recently profiled two InDro employees – both of whom came to Canada from India – to study engineering there. (Their story documents a pretty remarkable voyage and can be found here.)

“Why GCXpo?” we asked Algonquin representatives.

“We’re here to kind of market the value of not only the Co-op & Career Centre, but everything our Experiential and Innovation centre can offer – ranging from applied research, co-op positions, through to entrepreneurship co-ops,” explained Ashoka Patel, the College’s Industry Engagement Specialist Team Lead.

“When we’re at these events, we want to meet with anyone interested in attending the college, so (we talk about) work-integrated learning opportunities, which could be a placement, a short-term internship. And then we speak to our current students to encourage them to look for jobs and ask how we can help them, help out with research projects. And then we want to meet with employers and see what we kind of different programs we can provide to students and graduates.”

And, says Patel, that commitment doesn’t end with commencement.

“Once a student leaves Algonquin College, we still offer them post-graduation support to find their career of choice.”

And those are the people, from Algonquin College and elsewhere, who will forge the next wave of innovations.

Below: Ashoka Patel, along with Industry Engagement Specialist Alexandra Trudel.

Algonquin College Ashoka Patel and Alexandra Trudel

INDRO’S TAKE

 

This event is now in its third year – and GCXpo has truly become the showcase of Canadian and international companies in the Smart Mobility and related sectors. It’s an opportunity for everyone from big industry players through to small entrepreneurs and interested students and members of the public to learn about the products, services and agencies that are committed to helping shape the future in a positive way.

“As always, Area X.O and Invest Ottawa have done a tremendous job of hosting and planning this event,” says InDro Robotics CEO Philip Reece. “The shift from TCXpo to GCXpo really highlights the commitment of the Government of Canada to this future, and also illustrates how truly engaged regulators and funding agencies are to this growing sector. Of course, it’s always nice to show what InDro has been up to – but the real value here is the diversity of thought and innovation on display, all in one place and in one day. We look forward to 2025.”

See you next year!

Cypher Robotics, GreyOrange discuss the future of warehouse automation

Cypher Robotics, GreyOrange discuss the future of warehouse automation

Sep 23, 2024 | Captis, Cypher Robotics, Inventory Management, Scott Simmie

By Scott Simmie

 

What will the future of warehouse automation look like?

You might picture autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) moving heavy loads from point A to point B. There could be pick and place robots grabbing specific items from inventory shelves and relocating them, or putting them in boxes. AMRs equipped with manipulator arms might be loading or unloading trucks. Other devices could be scanning existing inventory to ensure companies have accurate and realtime information on precisely what is on hand.

All of these technologies are here now – and, to varying degrees – are being implemented as companies transition toward a more efficient and cost-effective way of doing things.

But such systems involve a lot of moving parts that need to be coordinated. And when you throw actual people into the mix, along with building infrastructure, things get a lot more complicated.

So what will this future look like? And, just as important, how can we ensure worker safety while coordinating all of these complex machines and interactions?

That was the topic of a fascinating webinar put on recently by Robotics 24/7. Entitled Rise of the Robots: Driving Safety & Adoption with Multiagent Orchestration, the webinar was hosted by Robotics 24/7 Editorial Director Tim Culverhouse. It featured Akash Gupta, CEO and Co-Founder of GreyOrange – an AI-driven supply chain software leader that specialises in warehouse fulfilment. The other guest was Peter King, CEO and Co-Founder of Cypher Robotics.

 

CYPHER ROBOTICS

 

This company, which was incubated by InDro Robotics, builds robots for precision inventory counts using both optical and RFID scanning technologies. Its signature product, Captis, was launched earlier this year to significant buzz at the massive Automate 2024 conference. Cypher Robotics and GreyOrange also announced a partnership at that conference.

We’ll dive into the webinar conversation in a moment. But first, a look at Captis. It’s an autonomous mobile platform that does three things, and does them all very well. With a five-hour runtime, Captis can:

  • Autonomously scan inventory optically using a tethered drone attached to the AMR Captis base
  • Autonomously scan inventory using RFID
  • Create ultra-precise digital twins of a warehouse space

Captis has been deployed for more than a year with a large Canadian retailer that has hundreds of huge warehouses across the country. Captis has proven itself on the warehouse floor, providing the retailer with realtime inventory updates and saving employees from the risky (and often unsatisfying) work of repeatedly manually scanning stock – some of which is 10 metres above the ground.

Below: Captis, at work in a Canadian warehouse. You can see the drone on top of the Captis base

Cypher Robotics Captis

THREE PILLARS

 

Watching the webinar, it became clear there were three overarching themes involved with any sound implementation of robotics into the workplace/warehouse space. They are:

  • Worker safety
  • Orchestration of multiple robotic devices into a seamless single system, even with highly complex inventories
  • Return on Investment

Both GreyOrange and Cypher Robotics were aligned on these pillars, with the former focussing on comprehensive software solutions and the latter on an efficient and safe device that can keep workers from repetitive and potentially dangerous tasks while offering a clear value proposition to the client.

From the GreyOrange side, a large part of the solution is its GreyMatter realtime fulfillment platform, an AI-powered software designed for multi-agent orchestration. In other words, ensuring that the right robot or agent is doing the right thing at the right time.

“GreyMatter is pretty much an automation-first warehouse execution system capable of automating…the end-to-end of the warehouse,” explained GreyOrange CEO Gupta. “We support 10 to 15 different robotic technologies on our platform that in GreyMatter is agnostic to any of these robotic technologies that you can deploy in any of the processes of the warehouse.”

Another key part of GreyMatter is what Gupta calls its Certified Ranger Network.

“It’s basically a group of robotic technologies that are…seamlessly integrated with GreyMatter. We also certify them for reliability, safety and security.” (The Cypher Robotics Captis is part of that Certified Ranger Network.)

Working in concert with all of this is a piece of mobile software created by GreyOrange called gStore.

“It’s end-to-end integration orchestration within the four walls of the stores…inventory management, store operations, Omni channel execution, customer experience, (gStore is) basically kind of bringing all of that together.”

Collectively, said Gupta, you can think of these working synergically to ensure that the “agent up-time or robotic up-time gets converted into fullfillment outcomes.”

Below: A graphic from the presentation outlining how the GreyOrange system works

GreyOrange GreyMatter

FROM THE CYPHER SIDE

 

CEO and Co-Founder Peter King comes with the perfect background for the job. He spent 10 years in the supply chain and logistics industry, followed by 15 years in the robotics and drone sectors. Cypher Robotics, he says, “is kind of a marriage between those realms.”

Several years ago, King was approached by a massive Canadian retailer that wanted to look at an automated solution for its warehouses. The product needed to be able to count inventory autonomously (including boxes high up on racks), had to be highly accurate, and – ideally – would work with the company’s existing infrastructure. In other words, no physical changes to warehouse layout would be required.

That’s no small task. And work on what would become Captis began in 2021.

“It’s an AMR/drone combination product,” said King. “It’s both a vision-based and RFID capture system. And that product works harmoniously together to autonomously go up and down aisles counting inventory. What makes us unique is our ability to trundle up and down aisles for up to five hours collecting data, unlike some traditional methods today.”

While some companies offer drone-based solutions, they come with limitations. Batteries have to be frequently changed and run times are limited. Because the drone is tethered to the Captis base, it draws power from that base enabling vastly extended flight times. As the drone hovers above, Captis navigates autonmously down the aisles. Captis can also capture precise digital twins of any environment it’s deployed in. All of the data acquired optically by the drone – or by Captis itself in RFID or digital twin mode – is meshed real-time into the client’s Warehouse Management System (WMS).

The product formally launched in March – and has since gained considerable interest in the industry.

“We’re gaining a lot of traction and realising just how big this marketplace is,” he added.

Cypher’s main clients are retail operators with large warehouses, but the company is also moving into Third-Party Logistics (3PL) and healthcare. And, as you’ll see in a moment, has truly proven its worth with its flagship client.

Below: An overview of the Captis system

Meet Captis

CASE STUDY

 

Due to the extensive work Captis has been doing with a major Canadian retailer, Cypher Robotics has been able to pull together a case study that reflects the product’s ROI.

In one large facility alone, said King, “we’re anticipating that we are going to eliminate 250,000 man hours per year.”

Those are hours that largely would have been spent by people manually scanning products, an intrinsically unsatisfying task with poor job satisfaction and high attrition rates. But King emphasised those savings don’t mean jobs are being lost; rather, that employees can be transferred to more satisfying work.

“There’s a very long conversation around robots replacing workers and, in this case, we’re actually looking to shift those hours into more productive areas of the business and help this current client actually keep employees in the facilities as well.”

The Cypher solution has had other significant bottom-line benefits for this client.

Online orders that have to be cancelled because an item is out-of-stock are a huge pain point for large companies. If the inventory cycle count isn’t highly accurate, items that are unavailable can show on the web as being in stock. Those orders, which wind up being cancelled, can add up to huge potential losses. That’s because, in addition to resources spent refunding to customers, the company has lost large numbers of potential sales.

With Captis onboard, King said those unfulfilled online orders have been reduced by 50 per cent. Ensuring customers were ordering items in stock led to $7.5 million in additional annual revenue for just this one client.

What’s more, because Captis can easily track how many discontinued items are in stock, it alerts the retailer to put an emphasis on selling those items in order to clear the way for new stock.

“We’re reducing the discontinued inventory by 12 per cent, so another 1.2 million dollars in overall sales for this client,” said King. “We think that’s a big deal by allowing them to push discontinued product and make sure that they understand what areas of their business they need to focus on to eliminate that inventory.”

In addition, King said the system has enabled the client to reduce their cancelled orders – leading to roughly one million dollars in additional annual revenue. With this particular client, the system has proven its worth many times over.

But there could be more benefits down the road. Cypher Robotics is exploring with the client how to identify spare room in those massive warehouses that could be put to profitable use by leasing that space to third parties.

“One of the things you’ll see on our road map is the ability to provide fulfillment services for unused space,” said King. “So understanding how much space is in your warehouse (that could be available) to allow other organizations to access – understanding what your utilization rates are allows you to understand what inventory looks like at each of your facilities to make sure that you’re managing (space) appropriately. For this one client specifically, we can see that there’s a huge need in this industry.”

Below: Details from the Cypher Robotics case study

 

Captis Case Study

INDRO’S TAKE

 

The picture is becoming pretty clear, at least for large-scale warehouses and fulfillment/3PL companies: Automation is the future.

But the key here is that this future must be carefully orchestrated. You can’t simply throw a bunch of AMRs and other automation into a facility – particularly with human beings walking around – without concerns for worker safety, including equipping those machines with the best available sensors and AI for detecting and avoiding people and other objects. Wherever possible, you also want to avoid costly infrastructure changes to accommodate these technologies.

But the bigger picture – as described in the webinar – is the importance of certifying these machines and the overarching orchestration of how all of these moving parts work together. And not only work together, but do so in the most efficient and logical way possible. Software like GreyMatter and gStore are half of this equation; robotic solutions like Captis and other complementary systems are the other half.

“As the incubator of Cypher Robotics, InDro is exceedingly proud to see the great strides this company has made in a relatively short time period,” says InDro Robotics Founder and CEO Philip Reece. “Cypher Robotics and Captis do more than count inventory and create digital twins in a highly accurate and timely fashion; they provide critical and actionable data that has proven to significantly improve the client’s bottom line. Technologies like this also play an important role in keeping employees out of potential harm’s way – and allow them to carry out more satisfying tasks.”

Interested in learning more about Cypher Robotics and Captis? You can download a deck here. And if you’d like a conversation, you can contact Cypher Robotics here.

Tight budget? InDro Offers multiple R&D options

Tight budget? InDro Offers multiple R&D options

Sep 19, 2024 | InDro News, LIMO, Scott Simmie, Success Stories

By Scott Simmie

 

Working on high-level R&D doesn’t necessarily mean a high-level budget.

It can, of course (and we can help you out there, as well).

But InDro is committed to putting powerful tools into the hands of researchers and developers without breaking the bank. We know many clients, particularly those in academia, often have ambitious plans but limited budgets. And we’re dedicated to providing those customers with multiple affordable options – along with the high-level support and documentation you’d expect might come only with more expensive options.

“That’s what makes it kind of fun, right? Trying to get clients the most value with the dollars available,” says Head of R&D Sales Luke Corbeth.

Often, academic researchers receive funding for specific projects from government or arms-length agencies. In Canada, many projects are partially funded by the forward-thinking Canada Foundation for Innovation. Founded in 1997 by the federal government, the CFI marked funding its 10,000th project in 2017 – and deserves a shout-out.

In the United States, academic clients are often funded by a similar agency, the National Science Foundation – which supports “grants, cooperative agreements and fellowships — that support research and education across science and engineering.”

More and more of these recipients come to InDro, looking for the biggest bang for their buck. Why InDro? Because we have options to suit any budget.

Below: The LIMO Pro, which we’ll hear about in a moment.

LIMO Pro Robot

LIMO AND LIMO PRO

 

The small but powerful robot pictured above is currently at work in many labs across North America. Perfect for research on autonomy and machine vision/machine learning, these multi-modal and ROS-based machines feature four steering modes and punch well above their weight. Equipped with sensors and AI to understand their environment, the LIMO is capable of working on its own or in swarms. For institutions creating algorithms to help Smart Mobility become even smarter, the LIMO has proven to be a robust solution.

Easy to operate? Yes. But that ease in some ways belies the capabilities of LIMO. Boston University has purchased dozens of LIMOs through InDro, and is using them for multiple applications, including high-level, Multi-Agent Systems research.

“So typically what we expect within the next, let’s say five to 10 years, is a mixture of the smart connected autonomous vehicles and the regular vehicles that we typically refer to as Human Driven Vehicles or HDVs. So the idea is: How can we get these teams of autonomous agents to work together?” says says Christos Cassandras, Distinguished Professor of Engineering, Head of the Division of Systems Engineering, and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boston University.

“Since I can’t use dozens of real vehicles, I would like to use dozens of small robots that can be thought of as these autonomous vehicles, (which can) talk to each other, cooperate,” he says. “But also sometimes they don’t really cooperate if some of them are the HDVs. So what we are doing in our Boston University Robotics Lab…is we deploy these LIMOs that we have acquired as teams of autonomous vehicles.”

In the video below, you’ll see LIMOs driving cooperatively, calculating in real-time the most efficient way to merge. That’s followed by an overview video from LIMO manufacturer AgileX.

VERSATILE

 

Though your project might not involve the complexities undertaken at Boston University, these robots are up to whatever task you can throw at them.

“Oftentimes researchers want to purchase multiple of the same hardware to do multi-robot systems research, or the platform is going to be used for teaching and training,” says Corbeth.

For those requiring more advanced sensors and AI, there’s the LIMO Pro. We outline its capabilities here on our own website:

“Powered by NVIDIA Orin Nano, EAI T-mini Pro LiDAR, and Orbbec Dabai depth camera, the LIMO Pro robot delivers unparalleled environmental awareness for autonomous navigation, obstacle avoidance, and visual recognition. With ROS 1 Noetic and ROS 2 Foxy compatibility, seamless software integration is at your fingertips. Enjoy an extended 2.5-hour battery life for uninterrupted research and experimentation. The ultimate platform for students, researchers, and enthusiasts, LIMO Pro offers a transformative learning experience with state-of-the-art sensors and software.”

There are actually two versions of the LIMO Pro: The ROS and ROS2 models. The first operates on ROS1 Noetic and ROS2 Foxy and features the Jetson Orin Nano 8G for onboard compute. The ROS2 model incorporates an Intel NUC i7 8G for processing, and runs ROS2 Humble. Because all versions of LIMO are multi-modal (ie Omni Wheel, Four-Wheel Differential steering, Ackermann steering and Tracked steering), they allow researchers to test algorithms and responses in all of these modes – providing learnings that could be applied to larger platforms.

“So you can basically simulate any larger robot’s locomotion with just a small compact package,” says Corbeth.

LIMO Pro and the original LIMO are also affordable, priced at $3200 USD and $2500 USD respectively.

We should also add here that there’s a cobot version of LIMO Pro available, which has a manipulator arm on top.

“This allows teams to learn how to do the basics of mobile manipulation and then, should you want to expand on that with greater capabilities, scale up. But all the basics are there,” he adds. The manipulator arm version sells for about $4500 US.

 

DOCUMENTATION

 

It’s one thing to purchase even a small robot like LIMO. It’s quite another to get up and running in the way your R&D requires. While LIMO and LIMO Pro can be operated straight out of the box, InDro is aware users might need some help along the way with specific tasks or coding. For example, how do you put a model of the LIMO into Gazebo for simulated missions? No problem – InDro offers comprehensive documentation for all the products we sell.

Plus, our documentation is constantly updated as researchers hit us up with questions and our engineering team finds the answers.

“Basically this is a compilation of knowledge-based pages that we’ve accumulated over the years at this point, answering pretty much any question clients have ever approached us with,” says Corbeth.

“This extends from software to our physical products as well. The LIMO documentation is really fleshed out – we cover everything from how to use it in a gazebo simulation to networking, how to do teleoperation, SLAM, obstacle detection, obstacle avoidance. We even have a series of quizzes that people can use to test their knowledge and improve their understanding of how to effectively use this technology.”

All LIMO clients have on-demand and free access to this documentation. Here’s a screen grab that provides an overview of some of the topics covered:

LIMO documentation

QUADRUPEDS AND MORE

 

Of course, different research requires different platforms. Increasingly, we’re seeing demand for quadrupeds – which are capable of handling more demanding terrain (including stairs). And here, too, we have solutions.

“When it comes to quadrupeds, they’ve historically had two downsides: They were closed-source – so unavailable for development – and they were horrifically expensive,” explains Corbeth.

That has changed. Unitree Robotics has set a new bar for affordable and reliable open-source quadrupeds ideal for research and development and, if your budget’s a little higher, real-world deployment for monitoring, surveillance, search and rescue, etc.

The company began with a very smart engineering student, Wang Xinxing. His vision was to build a quadruped using powerful but relatively inexpensive brushless motors. His university project in 2014-2015 focussed on building what he termed XDog (where “X” means mystery). He was successful and just kept on going – founding Unitree. To look at how incredibly quickly this company has progressed, it’s worth comparing two videos. The first is back from Wang’s university days (from a YouTube channel he still maintains). The second is the GO2, featuring the new wheeled option.

It’s quite the contrast, and Unitree products are constantly being upgraded.

AFFORDABLE

 

Unitree does produce some very high-end models for industrial purposes (and we’re happy to help you with those), but the emphasis in this piece is on affordable models suitable for R&D. And here, there are some options.

The GO2 EDU has been designed for R&D work.

“The whole point of the GO2 EDU is to reduce barriers to entry, both in terms of price and development potential. Obviously they’ve gone through multiple iterations of the system now and have refined it – like, really refined it,” says Corbeth.

“The core locomotion is really good, the onboard compute is extremely powerful, it has a number of pre-integrated sensors and there’s super elaborate documentation. Basically, it’s the penultimate entry point for quadruped development and there’s more than one model.”

Is it cheap? Well, if you look at the Unitree website you’ll see one model touted at $1900 USD. But that is not the dog we’re talking about; that model is built pretty much solely for entertainment and not suitable for R&D. But you don’t have to take a great leap from there to get into the quadrupeds researchers are interested in. There are three models that have been finding their way from InDro to research institutes; all come with LiDAR and excellent compute.

  • GO2 EDU
  • GO2 EDU Plus (improved compute)
  • GO2 EDU Plus Hesai XT16 (additional LiDAR)
  • GO2 W Plus (wheeled version)

“The educational versions are the ones our clients are most interested in because those are the ones that have improved hardware and the ability to be programmed,” explains Corbeth. “They also come with a really intuitive remote that allows you to see what the robot is seeing through its various sensors.”

Prices for the GO2 EDU line start at $13,900 USD and come with the full support of InDro and its extensive online documentation. All of these quadrupeds can be customised with accessories, including wireless charging, a robotic manipulator arm and even a small Point-Tilt-Zoom camera.

Researchers have done a lot of work with their own autonomy stacks and machine learning on the GO2 EDU line. Some have even adapted the quadruped as a service dog, capable assisting those with vision impairments or other disabilities. With the right software, these quadrupeds are even capable of identifying and pushing accessibility buttons on doors, so that’s both cool and useful.

NOT JUST R&D

 

Though this story focusses on budget solutions, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that Unitree has an entire line  of quadrupeds (and now, two humanoid models), suitable for higher budgets and real-world deployment. The GO2 comes in an ENT, or Enterprise version, which can be outfitted with gas sensors, emergency services lighting and other features suitable for Search and Rescue, surveillance and monitoring, etc. And if you have a factory or industrial setting requiring repeatable autonomous monitoring, you can get into products like the B2, a large and powerful robot so robust it’s can carry huge loads and is even capable of walking underwater.

These are a significant leap in cost and abilities from the GO2 EDU line, but are still highly competitive when compared with other products on the market. The difference is that products like the B2 have been purpose-built for the industrial sector and deployment in highly demanding conditions.

Here’s a look at the B2 (it looks a lot bigger in real life). 

B2 Robot

AND FINALLY, OUR ROS-BASED DRONE

 

Before expanding into the ground robotics space, InDro built itself on its advanced R&D work and specialized service provision with drones. That works still continues, and we offer a wide variety of products for Enterprise use, including search and rescue, medical deliveries and more. But we’re particularly excited about a new drone we’ve developed for R&D clients seeking an affordable, open-source drone for development.

“The concept behind the R&D drone is we went to the market and we tried to find the best available open source ROS-based drone. And we couldn’t find one.” says Corbeth. “So essentially what we’ve done is find a way to build one ourselves.”

For R&D researchers, access to an affordable and programmable flying platform is a big deal – especially since the programming protocol is the same as working with a ROS-based ground robot.

“A drone is essentially a flying robot in terms of the way developers interact with it,” he says. “The primary difference is that instead of wheels, tracks or legs, you’re using motors and propellers.”

And, of course, sensors depending on client needs. Our R&D drone comes with a depth perception camera for obstacle avoidance and unfamiliar environments, but can be outfitted with anything a client needs. One of our clients is using this drone for research and mapping in caves, so we outfitted that model with a mapping LiDAR.

“If you start to consider more complicated applications like landing on a moving vehicle or landing on a sea vehicle, where the the home point is constantly changing, that’s not something you can do with a DJI drone – but is certainly something you could do with this,” says Corbeth. “Introducing any amount of machine vision or AI on the drone is something you can do when it’s open source, but not possible when it’s closed source.”

In another example, we have one academic client using this drone for research in combination with a swarm of LIMOs.

“One Canadian university is actually teaming together the drones with LIMOs. They’ve purchased a number of LIMOs, they’ve purchased a number of drones, and they’re going to basically work on a large, coordinated ground-air swarm – where the drones and ground robots will be communicating with each other.”

Research like this, obviously has great implications for Search and Rescue, mapping – and even the future of delivery – where packages might be transferred between autonomous ground and air vehicles.

The ROS-based R&D drone sells for $11,900 USD and comes standard with depth perception, high-power onboard compute, and extensive documentation and support.

InDro ROS drone

INDRO’S TAKE

 

While we often deal with large clients with large budgets, InDro will always retain its commitment to academia and others carrying out R&D with limited financial resources. And, as we’ve just outlined, we have multiple options that have proven a perfect fit for that category. From the LIMO through the GO2 line and our ROS-based drone, there are choices to suit pretty much any budget and research requirements.

“Clients in the academic and research world are incredibly important to InDro,” says Founder and CEO Philip Reece. “Cutting-edge research frequently leads to new innovations that accelerate the industry-at-large. We also believe it’s important for these innovative tools to be available to students – who will become the next generation of R&D researchers and entrepreneurs. This is truly important to us, and supporting these people is firmly part of the InDro ethos.”

The other bonus here? Well, that would be Luke Corbeth. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone more knowledgeable and enthusiastic about products, with as deep an understanding of research requirements and use-cases. Luke enjoys explaining our offerings, and – more than that – taking a deep dive into the client’s needs to ensure we can provide the perfect fit. And, trust us on this, he’s not the kind of person to push anything that isn’t the best solution.

You can contact Luke here.

GCXpo to showcase Smart Mobility at Ottawa’s Area X.O September 26

GCXpo to showcase Smart Mobility at Ottawa’s Area X.O September 26

Sep 12, 2024 | Area X.O, GCXpo, Scott Simmie, Smart Mobility, TCXpo

By Scott Simmie

 

It’s that time of the year again.

We’re not referring here to the end of summer, but to Canada’s premiere Smart Mobility event. On September 26, GCXpo comes to Area X.O in Ottawa. This is the third annual showcase of Canadian technology companies in the Smart Mobility and IoT realms. The first two were known as TCXpo, with the “TC” standing for Transport Canada. This year’s show promises to be even bigger, and the “GC” – Government of Canada – reflects that.

If you’ve attended in the past, you’ll know it’s an exciting day. There are demonstrations of all sorts of smart technologies – everything from drones dropping payloads with intelligent parachutes that guide the payload to a precision target through to autonomous ground vehicles.

“In partnership with the Government of Canada and event sponsors, GCXpo will bring together more than 70 Canadian companies to host live technology demonstrations at Area X.O,” says the Area X.O website.

“GCXpo will create an exclusive opportunity for invited guests to experience the power and impact of cutting-edge Canadian technologies, including many preparing for global markets.”

And it’s not just a select group of invited guests. If you’re interested in this sphere, we’ll tell you later how you can register.

First, though, let’s take a look at what you can expect. Check out this video from last year’s event:

MORE THAN 70 COMPANIES

 

With outdoor (and some indoor) displays on the sprawling Area X.O site, guided tours take attendees through the latest in cutting-edge innovations from Canadian and international companies. In 2023, 77 companies exhibited at the show, and a similar number is on tap for 2024. These include industry leaders like Rheinmetall Provectus, Lockheed Martin and more, alongside prominent startups like RealLife Robotics which specialises in zero-emission last-mile and cargo delivery. Of course, InDro Robotics (which is also a sponsor of the event) will be there, too.

We’ll be demonstrating many of our robots and drones, utilising the Drone and Advanced Robotics Testing and Training facility, also known as DARTT. This is a state-of-the-art proving ground for robots, where they can be driven over demanding terrain built to the exacting standards of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This includes a large-scale, netted enclosure for testing drones. Because it’s enclosed, it’s ideal for testing new drone technologies without having to apply for a Special Flight Operations Certificate. It’s also an ideal location for training robot and drone operators – and InDro manages the site. (You can take a deeper dive into DARTT with this story.)

GCXpo is an opportunity not only to see our latest innovations up close, but also a chance to operate them. Head of R&D Sales Luke Corbeth is a master at explaining technology, and likes nothing more than putting a remote control in the hands of attendees to give them a chance to pilot a ground robot or even drone.

Here’s a brief clip of Luke at the DARTT zone from last year’s event; Luke will perform a similar role at GCXpo.

TWO EVENTS IN ONE

 

Trust us, there’s plenty to see at GCXpo – along with the opportunity to speak with those displaying their products and services. But the outdoor exhibits are just one part of the show. Running concurrently is the CAV (Connected and Autonomous Vehicles) Canada Stage. With programming throughout the day, this is a chance to hear more than 20 distinguished thought leaders (including InDro Robotics Founder and CEO Philip Reece) on a wide range of topics related to Smart Mobility, Advanced Air Mobility, the IoT, security, et cetera. The list of topics, as you’ll see, truly goes on.

As the CAV Canada website explains, speakers will be addressing these topics – and more:

  • “Authentic discussion and global foresight on key opportunities and challenges in CAV and smart mobility R&D, markets, investments, and policy during current recovery and post-pandemic periods.
  • “Actionable insight to enable and accelerate the safe implementation of CAV and smart mobility solutions in diverse sectors, from transportation to communications, smart farming and public safety
  • “Innovative approaches, real-world examples and lessons learned in smart mobility test, validation and demonstrations
  • “Access to CAV and smart mobility talent and strategies to develop, attract, and retain a competitive, diverse and inclusive workforce.
  • “Networking opportunities to engage, connect and collaborate in the smart mobility ecosystem.”

Previously, the CAV Canada event took place the day after TCXpo. This year, GCXpo and the CAVCanada learning sessions will be integrated into a single event. (And don’t worry, the large CAV Canada stage and audience area is tented in the event of rain).

Below: Some of the InDro team – and many of our robots – at last year’s TCXpo

TCXpo

CANADA, OTTAWA AT THE FOREFRONT

 

It’s no coincidence that GCXpo takes place in Ottawa. In addition to the Area X.O facility – a dedicated and private space utilised by numerous companies in the Smart Mobility sector – the city itself is a leading technology hub. According to Invest Ottawa, the nation’s capital is home to more than 1800 technology companies, 88,000+ tech workers, and represents the highest concentration of technology talent per capita in North America.

“Ottawa is renowned for our cutting-edge R&D and innovation in SaaS, cybersecurity, AI, machine learning, robotics, advanced networks and 5G, health tech and life sciences, smart mobility, IOT, and many other disruptive technologies,” says its web site. “Innovators are fueling the ICT Information and Communications Technology), life sciences, defence, security, aerospace, smart mobility, cleantech, and software to name a few.”

Invest Ottawa has played a huge role in attracting and supporting technology firms. The agency says “From 2013 to 2022 (inclusive), Invest Ottawa has supported almost 14,000 firms from start-ups to global enterprises.” And that’s not all. Invest Ottawa has also helped raise some $1.86B in capital for domestic companies, provided more than 75,000+ hours in advisory services, and helped facilitate nearly 15,000 jobs. That’s a lot.

In a larger sense, GCXpo also showcases the commitment of the Federal and Ontario provincial governments (including agencies like Invest Ottawa) toward technology and a Smart future. Many, if not all, of the companies displaying their innovations and services have benefited from government programs and research grants to help grow their businesses. These agencies include:

  • Transport Canada
  • The Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Innovative Solution Canada (ISC) Challenge Program
  • DND’s Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program
  • NGen Canada, the advanced manufacturing supercluster
  • Area X.O

In a news release for last year’s event, Area X.O and Invest Ottawa also pointed out another purpose of the show.

“TCXpo will enable all participating companies to engage prospective talent, clients, partners, suppliers, investors and regulators throughout the day. These connections can stimulate new R&D, business and investment opportunities that propel the growth and success,” it stated.

For companies like InDro, the two previous TCXpo events enabled a public demonstration of technologies, an opportunity to network with other companies in complementary fields – and a chance to sit down with both prospective clients and regulators such as Transport Canada and NAV Canada.

“This truly is the premiere event for showcasing emerging technologies in the Smart Mobility and IoT sectors,” says InDro Robotics CEO and Founder Philip Reece. “Our entire team is looking forward to GCXpo and the opportunity to engage with the public, clients, and the Federal and Provincial agencies that have helped support our ambitious growth trajectory.”

Below: An autonomous tractor hits the field inside Area X.O at the 2023 TCXpo event. We can’t resist reviving a joke we made at the time: “And on this farm there was a robot, Ee-eye, ee-I/O…”

INDRO’S TAKE

 

InDro Robotics was one of the very first anchor tenants at Area X.O, alongside heavyweights like Ericsson, Nokia and Blackberry QNX. We could see the advantages of a private facility with its own 5G network, allowing us to test our drones, ground robots and more by simply walking out the door with them.

We started with a relatively small team, and our operations there have grown along with the facility. It’s now our R&D headquarters, where the bulk of InDro’s many innovations are conceived and executed. The number of employees there has grown exponentially, and InDro has developed solid relationships with many of the federal and provincial agencies who will be present at the show. InDro is also about to mark the first anniversary of its expansion into rapid prototyping and limited run manufacturing with its InDro Forge facility (formerly the Bayview Yards Prototyping Lab). There’s no question Ottawa is the place to be in our line of work.

“GCXpo promises to be a great event, and we look forward to showcasing not only our products and team, but also the Area X.O facility itself,” says Philip Reece. “Invest Ottawa and Area X.O have been great partners from the moment we started renting space at the facility – and we could not envision a better location for our research and development.”

If you’re going to be (or could be) in Ottawa September 26, you’re invited. Attending GCXpo is free, and there will be guided tours to ensure you don’t miss any of the action. You can register for a ticket right here.