By Scott Simmie

So. You want to buy a robot. 

Maybe you’re in the academia or R&D fields, and you need a robot for research. Or you’re a commercial/industrial client, looking for a device to carry out regular maintenance inspection, surveillance, or some other repeatable data acquisition task. You might even be looking for a robot that can pick things up and move them from one location to another. 

Regardless of the use-case, you’ll have a budget. And you’ll want to make the most of it. 

The question is: How, precisely, do you do that? How can you ensure you’re getting the best bang – and robot – for the buck?

At InDro, we take pride in how we work with clients to ensure they’re maximising their spend while we minimise their pain. Regardless of where you ultimately purchase a robot, we hope the tips this post reveals will help inform your choice.

Below: ‘Rosie’ – a highly complex dual-manipulator robot InDro built for a client

BUY ONLY WHAT YOU NEED

It’s a big world out there. And there’s more than one place to go robot shopping. But many suppliers lock clients into “packages” – which include a fixed number of sensors. Those packages tend to be rigid, even if the client might already have some of the desired components.

“They tend to bundle in components, be it expensive cameras or sensors or compute that the client already has,” explains Head of R&D Sales Luke Corbeth.

At InDro, he says, there’s an important difference.

“What we’re able to uniquely do is custom outfit a robot to only include what they need – so they don’t need to repurchase a 3D LiDAR or, say, a depth camera. If someone says, ‘Oh, I want this package but don’t need an IMU because I already have one,’ then we can bump down the cost and just not include the IMU.”

BUILD MODULAR

Needs evolve over time – as does technology. So it’s quite likely, during the lifespan of your robot, that more powerful sensors will be released. Or perhaps your own needs will change, and you realise that adding a thermal camera would really benefit a new use-case. That’s where InDro Commander (and InDro Cortex, which we’ll touch on later) come in.

Pretty much every robot we ship comes with a version of InDro Commander or the more compact InDro Backpack. Both of these boxes instantly transform any platform into a smart robot.

How do they do that? The simple explanation is that Commander and InDro Backpack are a Plug & Play hub that combines powerful compute and remote teleoperation mission planning capabilities via InDro Controller with instant sensor integration. There are a couple of features here that are key.

InDro Controller is a secure, user-friendly remote mission planner. It allows you to plan repeatable tasks on complex missions with a few clicks. Want to zoom in on that gauge to ensure normal operating parameters aren’t being exceeded? No problem. Manually carry out that operation just once and InDro Controller will remember it for next time. (Oh, and InDro Controller is regularly updated.)

But the real key is Commander’s future-proofing. Clients can add sensors simply by plugging them into one of Commander’s multiple USB slots. The onboard Robot Operating System library will automatically detect the new sensor and add it to the InDro Controller dashboard. Clients don’t need to do any coding or soldering to ensure the perfect fit. (Plus, we have multiple autonomy software stacks, also continuously updated, that can be added.)

The ease of sensor integration with InDro Commander and InDro Controller means the client can modify or otherwise update their robot with additional or newer sensors without the hassle – and time and cost – normally associated with the task.

Below: InDro’s Commander – ready for anything you can throw at it

BUY QUALITY

You know that old maxim: You get what you pay for.

That’s usually true. But sometimes, as we’ve all experienced, you can overpay. And this is particularly true in the world of robotics. With some LiDAR units costing many tens of thousands of dollars, you’ll want to be absolutely certain you’re getting the best value (as with any other sensor). But with so many choices out there, how is a customer to discern what, truly, is ‘best’? It’s not like there’s a Rotten Tomatoes for LiDAR out there.

In the case of InDro, we’ve been building custom robots – for ourselves and our clients – for a long time. We’ve integrated and tested sensors from all the major manufacturers. And we’ve learned a lot during that process.

“We’ve built so many robots – and we’ve used pretty much every available LiDAR, depth camera, etc. on the market along the way,” says Corbeth. “As a result, what we offer in terms of components is the direct result of what we’ve seen have the best performance per dollar. We also look at: What’s easiest to work with from a development perspective? These criteria are all factored into our decisions on who we partner with.”

While Luke isn’t a trained engineer, he has a deep understanding of client needs, available solutions – and engineering in general. But when he’s got a question on behalf of a client, he also has our core R&D engineering team to tap on. We also have InDro Forge, our fabrication and manufacturing facility in Ottawa, for building custom enclosures and integration. This allows us full quality control, infinite customisation capabilities, and speeds the process of getting a finished robot out the door without having anything done by a third party.

AFTER THE SALE

InDro has built a reputation not only for its robots, but for its support of everything we sell. If clients ever have an issue, our engineering team gets to work. We have three well-established tiers of support, shown here in order of escalation:

• Remote troubleshooting
• Dispatching a Field Engineer to the client’s location
• Return to the robot to InDro for repair

“I would say in 90 per cent of cases we can we can remotely solve any issues – especially if it has InDro Controller. That makes it really easy to troubleshoot and update,” says Corbeth.

“But if it doesn’t, then sometimes it may make sense to go in-person and do those changes on behalf of the client on site.”

CORTEX

Because we’re a R&D company, we are constantly looking for ways to enhance our offerings. And while Commander is still both current and powerful, we’ve put considerable resources into making it even better – and much smaller.

InDro Cortex is the next generation of Commander, in a form factor so small it can easily be added to any platform: Wheeled, quadruped, humanoid – even a drone. With powerful compute, ROS1 and ROS2 libraries, InDro Controller and USB slots for sensors onboard, it’s ready for any mission. And, like Commander, InDro Cortex is a way of future-proofing your robot. If you’ve opted for InDro Controller or one of several autonomy stack options, you’ll always be working with the latest version of the software (in addition to being able to easily integrate new sensors).

“Cortex is the natural progression of Commander,” says Corbeth. “But because of the way it’s structured, it’s going to cost a lot less. So we’ll be able to outfit a robot with compute, sensors and connectivity at a fraction of the cost – which is really exciting.”

It is. And we look forward to a full commercial release of Cortex (which will also be available as a standalone product) by early summer. You can have a sneak peek, for free, below:

INDRO’S TAKE

If purchasing a robot is on your to-do list, we’d obviously like for you to consider InDro. But even if you don’t, we hope you’ll look for a supplier who offers everything we do, including:

• Track record with satisfied customers
• Components that have been field-tested for quality and value
• In-house manufacturing expertise
• Modular integration ease with after-sale support

The addition of InDro Forge to our capacity cannot be understated. We are now capable of all aspects of production, including IP-rated custom metal work for enclosures.

“Buying a robot is generally a significant capital expenditure,” says InDro Founder and CEO Philip Reece. “Our background as a research and development company, where we have invented and built so many robots from scratch, has taught us how to produce the absolute best products we can for the money. Those learnings – and there have been many – now benefit our clients.”

And, for those clients who know precisely what components or platforms they need, there’s also the new InDro Store. Happy shopping!

By Scott Simmie

We always like to pause at this time of the year and reflect; to look back on the year that was and celebrate the milestones and innovations achieved by Team InDro. It’s an exercise that’s always both satisfying and somewhat surprising, as we routinely forget just how much we managed to pack in. 

2024 was a very good year for InDro Robotics, as well as InDro Forge – our rapid prototyping and limited production run facility based at Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. 

Before we get into outlining all the specific projects and breakthroughs we’ve enjoyed during the year, it’s worth mentioning that while the focus of this story will largely be the engineering work carried out at our Area X.O research and development headquarters, InDro Robotics also has employees elsewhere in Canada, including Toronto, London, Alberta and British Columbia.

And – as you’ll see – they do cool stuff, too.

Below: The newest iteration of our Sentinel inspection workhorse

THE BIG PICTURE

The high-level view is a good one, and it’s this: InDro excelled in 2024 at putting complex robots and drones into the hands of clients across North America. These clients include others engaged in the R&D world – particularly universities and academics – as well as corporate clients and even global technology companies.

We’ve always done that. But there were two key factors that made for a difference in 2024. The first was that InDro Forge, our rapid prototyping and limited production run facility, truly came into its own. Forge, located at Ottawa’s Bayview Yards, is now our go-to for custom metal work, 3D printing and platform enclosures. (On the 3D printing front, we can fabricate objects up to one cubic metre.) The fit and finish of the products emerging from InDro Forge, whether for us or other clients, is exceptional.

The other big news from 2024 is about InDro’s growth and trajectory. We continued to expand our engineering team at Area X.O – and now have multiple high-level specialists in every sector of engineering: Mechanical, electrical, mechatronics, front-end software developers – the list goes on. So InDro scaled significantly in 2024 and has plans to continue in 2025.

We also developed new products in 2024 we’re confident will be commercially successful. As a result, there’s a shift coming in 2025. Yes, we’ll continue to do all the great R&D and custom robotics we’ve built our reputation on. But we’ll also be in a position, in conjunction with InDro Forge, to become a fully-fledged manufacturer.

Yes, we’ve manufactured before – sometimes designing and building multiple robots for a single client, or building our ever-popular InDro Commander. But we haven’t really manufactured at scale. This year, we’re confident we have the products, the capacity, the team and the vision for this to take place.

With all that context out of the way, let’s take a look at what we accomplished in 2024, starting with InDro Cortex – one of the products that has already generated significant interest and which we will manufacture in 2025.

Below: Rosie the dual manipulator robot – one of many complex builds for clients we carried out in 2024

INDRO CORTEX

InDro Cortex is a very small, very smart box that will elevate the capabilities of any robot or drone. It’s also the logical successor to our popular InDro Commander. That product also made robots smarter – and far easier for anyone with even modest robotics knowledge to integrate.

Commander contains high-power AI compute. Cortex takes that up a significant notch. Its brains reside within the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin Developer Kit, rated at 275 TOPS – that’s 275 Trillion Operations Per Second. Both the 8GB and 16GB versions will be integrated into Cortex, pending client needs.

In addition, Cortex contains a high-speed 5G/4G modem and antenna for remote teleoperation, GPS, the ROS1 and ROS2 (Robot Operating System) software libraries, along with multiple USB slots for rapid sensor integration and power supply. Someone purchasing a robotic locomotion platform could simply add Commander or Cortex – and then rapidly integrate multiple sensors. Those sensors are automatically detected, so it truly is a “plug & play” device. Pretty much every custom robot we build for clients has one of these boxes, and many clients purchase Commander as a standalone in order to simplify and speed their own integrations.

Because our motto is “Invent, Enhance, Deploy” we couldn’t stand on our laurels. As newer AI compute and other components came along, we knew it was time to improve an already-good solution.

“InDro Cortex grew out of the idea of making a general purpose backpack/module that any OEM could put on their motorized product – everything from a ground robot to even a golf cart, drone, car, truck or RC platform,” says Engineering Lead Arron Griffiths. “That single module makes any platform ROS-enabled, AI-ready and 5G connected.”

And it’s small. We designed four circuit boards to ensure smooth integration, top-speed remote teleoperation and even secure WiFi.

“It’s tiny so it fits on everything – whether that’s a ground robot or a drone,” says InDro Vice President Peter King. “So basically we can turn any platform into a very powerful robot without all the time and hassle.”

There’s been incredible interest in Cortex already. We plan on manufacturing and shipping to clients in Q3. Pre-orders are being taken now by Head of R&D Sales Luke Corbeth.

Below: An exploded view of InDro Cortex – the brains for your next robot, followed by our V1 enclosure

INDRO CONTROLLER

Another highlight of 2024 was on the software side. Our clients were asking for an intuitive and secure mission planner/controller, something that would make it easy to plan even highly complex autonomous missions.

InDro Controller is a powerful desktop UI for operating any robot. With a highly secure data connection, InDro Controller automatically senses all key parameters of any robotic device. It detects any sensors, providing a data feed from all of them with minimal latency. It also checks out overall robot health and provides instant feedback for the operator.

“It can handle all sorts of data,” says Lead Software Engineer RJ Bundy. “It doesn’t matter if the robot has standard or custom sensors, InDro Controller can automatically detect and visualize them. For example, if you added a radar unit to an existing robot, the system will pick up on that immediately.”

We’re not simply talking about missions that go from waypoint to waypoint. InDro Controller will remember any specific actions carried out during a mission and save and repeat them. For example, imagine you have a pressure gauge on site that needs to be monitored. The first time that mission is planned, the operator would position the pan-tilt-zoom camera on that asset and capture the image. The next time your robot goes out? InDro Controller will recall all parameters and position the camera, zoom and shoot autonomously. The system can even be programmed to fire an alert if a parameter on that gauge is being exceeded (or if a component exceeds thermal limits, etc.).

A basic version of InDro Controller ships with every robot we produce for clients. The Enterprise version can be leased at an affordable price, with continuous upgrades down the road at no additional cost.

Oh. We also made incredible strides with our InDro Autonomy software stack. With this on board, you can carry out Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) missions in completely unfamiliar environments. Even GPS-denied locations can be navigated with ease.

Below: A look at InDro Controller – which pairs perfectly with InDro Cortex-enabled robots but is itself robot-agnostic

OTHER MILESTONES AND HIGHLIGHTS

Truth is, were we to spend even a couple of paragraphs on each of the many things accomplished in 2024, you’d be reading an opus that would take you well into 2025. We know your time is as valuable as ours, so we’ll touch on the highlights as briefly as possible, with links to complete posts if you’d like more information.

Let’s start with clients. These are some of the many robots we built and shipped in 2024. Some of them were one-off creations, while some orders were for multiple robots.

• Rosie the Robot: A dual-arm manipulator robot built for the Intelligent-Cyber Physical System Lab, or I-CPS, at Polytechnique Montréal
• Four swarm robots for North Carolina State University’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• The Street Smart Robot, built to autonomously detect and report anomalies on bicycle paths during winter to help keep cyclists safe
• A total of 28 robots or platforms for Polytechnique Montréal‘s MIST Lab (Making Innovative Space Technology). Their team, using our platforms, was even featured on CNN
• Multiple custom inspection robot builds for a major US client we cannot name at this time
• The new Sentinel inspection robot for remote teleoperation in even the harshest of environments

There were more, but these hit the high points in terms of robots out the door that we can reveal without violating NDAs.

We also put in a lot of time with our partners at Cypher Robotics. Cypher is a separate company, but InDro is the technology incubator, assisting Cypher with challenging builds and testing. We are very proud of our work in helping to bring its cycle-counting/precision scanning Captis solution from plans to reality. This autonomous robot has been tested in massive Canadian warehouses, and picked up a ton of buzz at the MODEX and AUTOMATE conferences. Cypher Robotics was even invited to New Zealand, and has partnered with that country’s leading telco provider Spark.

Similar to our technology partnership with Cypher Robotics, InDro has also been assisting the great team at Real Life Robotics – a startup making great inroads in last-mile delivery services. Real Life’s engineering team drew up plans for its newest version of delivery robot “Bubbs” – and InDro Robotics and InDro Forge executed those plans. The result? An autonomous delivery robot that’s been making the rounds (and receiving a lot of coverage) delivering food for animals at the Toronto Zoo.

BUSY BUSY BUSY

While most eyes seem to be on our work at Area X.O (where we invent, design and build robots), InDro is always busy on multiple fronts. We are constantly involved in research for such bodies as the National Research Council, the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Centre, and more. One of the many interesting projects we began in 2024 (and which continues in 2025), is carrying out precision agriculture missions at cherry and peach orchards in British Columbia. It’s a collaboration between InDro Robotics and the City of Kelowna (enabled with funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Agriculture Clean Technology Program).

Yes, we’re using a drone to capture multi spectral data. But – in what we believe is a Canadian first – we’re also deploying ground robots to capture additional plant health data. The missions and analysis are being carried out by our Chief of Flight Operations Dr. Eric Saczuk (who holds a PhD in remote sensing and runs BCIT’s RPAS Hub).

“This is a way of doing ground-based validation of what we’re seeing from the air,” says Dr. Saczuk.

And that’s just one of many interesting projects we were (and are) involved in. These include:

• Joining a consortium selected to take part in Phase 2 RPAS Traffic Management trials for Transport Canada
• Attending GITEX and high-level meetings with some of the largest companies in Dubai as part of a trade mission
• Carrying out complex missions and offering technical expertise to startup SkyScout AI
• Entering the marine robotics sector

And yes, there’s more.

Our own Kate Klassen, Canada’s most well-known drone instructor (she’s also a multi-engine rated flight instructor with traditional aircraft) continued her exceptional training and advocacy work. She carried out seminars (including a recency session at the Aerial Evolution Association of Canada’s annual conference in Ottawa), took part in highly complex RPAS missions, and even expanded offerings on her already-comprehensive online drone instruction portal, FLYY. 

The newly launched Compass Series of courses is geared to help those who are recently certified to “find direction” or “get their bearings” (we see what you did there, Kate). Based on interviews across her network of experts, you can now learn the fundamentals of what it means to use drones in forestry, C-UAS, LiDAR, AAM and photogrammetry – with more to come!

Klassen (and InDro) are looking forward to new Transport Canada regulations that will enable non-complex BVLOS missions in 2025 without the need for a Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC). InDro, if you’re not aware, was the first company to obtain a blanket BVLOS SFOC from Transport Canada, and was the first company to obtain a drone cargo license from the Canadian Transportation Agency. So drones are a deep part of InDro’s DNA.

But so is fun. And to that end, we partnered with the immensely popular Hacksmith YouTube channel – providing a pair of robotic arms that were, well, integrated onto a human. You can catch all the laughs (and challenges)  in the video below. Part II is coming this year!

INDRO’S TAKE

We have to say it’s pretty satisfying to reflect on the year that was. Team InDro has gone above and beyond once again, hitting multiple significant milestones for ourselves and our clients. What’s more, we had fun doing it.

“I’m immensely proud of all the hard work carried out by our team,” says InDro Robotics CEO and Founder Philip Reece.

“And while it’s an impressive list of accomplishments, the big story is really about growth. InDro has scaled significantly and is now poised to start expanding with manufacturing in 2025. There’s already significant demand for Cortex, and we look forward to seeing that box come off production lines later this year.”

And a quick personal note from the author. I always enjoy interviewing our engineers and learning more about our latest projects. But I also like to focus on InDro’s people from time to time. Two of the stories I really enjoyed this year are these profiles of two team members who made their way from India to InDro…and this look at Head of Engineering Arron Griffiths. Oh – and let’s not forget about Artist-in-Residence Stephan Tzolov.

We look forward to 2025, which – in more ways than one – promises to be an exciting New Year.

By Scott Simmie

If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, Winter is Coming.

And if you’re a diehard cyclist, that also means you’re going to face challenges beyond the cold. Bike paths – just like the adjacent roads – can get mucked up with potholes, ice, and (like your driveway) blocked when a snowplow makes an errant dump.

In the future, cities will have a new tool at their disposal to help ensure cyclists can have the best thoroughfares possible in the depths of winter. It’s called the Street Smart Robot, and it was designed and built by the InDro Robotics engineering team at Area X.O in Ottawa. We believe it’s a great example of how robotics can help make future Smart Cities safer, more efficient, and more liveable for all of us.

It was a complex build from the ground up, requiring a lot of work on Machine Vision and obstacle detection and avoidance. Here’s a sneak peak we released while development was still underway:

FUNDING

Research and Development companies like ours are often fortunate enough to receive funding to assist with projects like these. Our concept for the Street Smart Robot caught the attention of the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN). Its website describes the agency as “Ontario’s flagship initiative for the automotive and mobility sector…driving economic development and catalyzing a future that builds safer, cleaner, and more efficient transportation.”

OVIN committed $465,000 to the SSR project.

INDRO’S TAKE

This is actually just the beginning of the Street Smart Robot’s journey. This is the prototype version, and we are already looking at ways to further enhance the product prior to commercial deployment. We’ve learned, for example, that while the existing tread locomotion is great for heavy snow and ice that an all-wheel drive wheeled platform will provide greater agility and speed. We are also looking at a smaller and more human-friendly form factor.

That being said, our SSR V1 has proven itself for Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM), as well as detecting hazards that could cause cyclists problems.

“Safer streets for everyone – including cyclists – are part of the Smart City of the future,” says InDro Robotics Founder and CEO Philip Reece. “The Street Smart Robot is an important step along that road.”

We’ll have more to say about our Street Smart Robot when we release V2 in the future. So stay tuned – and, if you’re cycling, stay safe.