Schlagwort-Archive: service robots

Argo – Your AI Smart Companion Robot

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Guess what? There’s a new robot in town: Argo, the AI Smart Companion Robot for your home! „How is it possible that in 2024 we still don’t have personal robots in our homes?“ 

This very question sparked the creation of Argo. And who better to tackle this challenge than three innovators who have built driverless cars, drones, rockets, and space robotic arms? Their vision: to create the smart personal home robot we’ve been waiting for! 

Argo excels in three main areas: 

● INTELLIGENCE: ChatGPT-level conversational abilities, smart home integration (domotics) and autonomous navigation to move and follow you around your home.

● SECURITY: 24/7 video surveillance, autonomous patrolling to check every room, motion detection for intruders, and even gas leak monitoring. 

● ENTERTAINMENT: From playing your favorite music to autonomously delivering drinks, Argo makes everyday life more enjoyable, with fun features like the morning alarm or the ed-tech games for your kids. 

But that’s just the start. To explore all of Argo’s features, visit their website: argorobot.it. 

The intuition behind Argo is that today we still have basic vocal assistants, static boxes used just to set timers, play music. In some years, we will have humanoid robots doing laundry and cooking for us. Will we switch overnight from Alexa to fully humanoid robots? Probably not. Argo is that essential step in between, and it will keep evolving day by day. 

So Argo isn’t just „Alexa on wheels.“ With its mobility, interactive animations and true conversational AI, Argo delivers an entirely different user experience: one that feels more alive and engaging than simply talking to a static device. 

As the famous roboticist Tomotaka Takahashi once said: „Having people talk to a brick doesn’t work, which is why Siri hasn’t succeeded.“ 

So Argo is an interactive companion, your AI chatty buddy and your infinite source of knowledge! 

Sure, we’ve seen other unfortunate attempts in home robots before, like Kuri or Jibo, which were true pioneers. However, the technology back then wasn’t quite there. AI, LLMs and autonomous navigation systems were still in their infancy. Today, we have the tools to push the boundaries even further and at a fraction of the cost. 

When you compare Argo to other robots on the market like Vector or Loona, while impressive, they tend to lean more toward toy-like design and functionality. And then there’s Amazon Astro, a high-tech marvel, but at $1,600 its price tag doesn’t align with the value it offers. Argo strikes the perfect balance: it’s more sophisticated, less of a toy and significantly more affordable, targeting a $499 price point. 

We’re seeing tech giants like Amazon and Apple (project J595) getting serious about this space, and it’s clear that smarter home robots are coming. Argo is here to be part of that revolution!

Do you want to share your ideas about home robots? Fill this quick survey to help Argo guys to craft the best home robot for you: https://forms.gle/MmNLc15wH5invino9 

Service Robots Record: Sales Worldwide Up 32%

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•    Logistics Robots up 110%
•    Medical Robots up 28%
Frankfurt, October 28th, 2020 – Sales value of professional service robots increased by 32% to 11.2 billion U.S. dollars worldwide (2018-2019). The COVID-19 pandemic will further boost the market. High demand for robotics disinfection solutions, robotic logistics solutions in factories and warehouses or robots for home delivery are examples of this trend. This is according to World Robotics 2020 – Service Robots report, presented by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).


In terms of value, the sales of medical robotics accounts for 47% of the total professional service robot turnover in 2019. This was mainly driven by robotic surgery systems, which are the most expensive type in the segment. Sales hit a new record of 5.3 billion U.S. dollars – up 28%. By 2022, medical robot sales have the potential to more than double by reaching 11.3 billion U.S. dollars. About 90% of medical robots are from American and European suppliers.

Professional Service Robots – logistics

The market value of logistics robots sold or leased was up 110% to 1.9 billion U.S. dollars.
Almost all of the logistics turnover was generated with robots for indoor use. Autonomous mobile robots have initially been used in warehouses but with digitalization of production, they are also part of today’s smart factory. Therefore, a continued strong turnover growth of 40% or more per year seems possible. “The investment in service robots for logistics in manufacturing processes is amortized rapidly,” says IFR President Milton Guerry. “Assuming 24 hour operation, the investment in service robots for logistics may be repaid within 2‐3 years and often much quicker. Given a 15 year lifetime, operating costs are around 5% of the annual investment. Highly developed systems often provide operational availability in the 98% plus range.”

The trending Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) business models lower the hurdle for customers to automate with robots. The benefit is not to invest in hardware, so the companies have no fixed capital, no fixed costs and no need for robot operators. The use of logistics systems in non-manufacturing industries has been strongly driven by warehouse solutions for major e-commerce companies. A strong potential can also be found in hospitals running their logistics with the help of professional service robots. In the segment of professional service robotics, about 90% of the sampled logistics robots were produced in Europe and North America – about 10% in Asia.

Professional Service Robots – field

The segment of field robotics consists of robots for agriculture, dairy, livestock farming and other field applications. Sales value increased by 3% to USD 1.3 billion U.S. dollars. The Covid-19 pandemic might have an impact for further supply of such robots. Travel restrictions for workers from Eastern Europe for instance, who usually travel to Western Europe in harvest season, caused a shortage of labour supply. Farmers might compensate this with the use of field robots. Sales value growth rates of more than 30% for agricultural robots seem possible.

Personal and Domestic Service Robots

Service robots for personal and domestic use, which are produced for a mass market, are mainly in the areas of household robots. This include vacuuming and floor cleaning robots, lawn-mowing robots or entertainment robots. The total number of service robots for personal and domestic use increased by 34% to more than 23.2 million units sold in 2019. The value was up 20% to 5.7 billion U.S. dollars. Unit prices for the two major segments, robot vacuums and toy robots, have been declining in recent years. Today, basic robot vacuums are already available for less than 100 U.S. dollars. 75% of the sampled domestic service robots – vacuum and floor cleaners, lawn mowers and other domestic robots – were produced by American companies in 2019. Asian companies had a share of 19% – European companies of 6%.

A growing market is the use of assistance robots for elderly or handicapped persons. The estimated sales value increased by 17% to 91 million U.S. dollars. Numerous national research projects in many countries focus on this huge future market for service robots. In contrast to most entertainment robots, these robots are high-tech products.

“We expect sales of both professional and personal service robots will continue to increase strongly,” says Milton Guerry, President of the International Federation of Robotics.

iRobot Introduces the Roomba® i3+, Expanding Its Intelligent, Self-Emptying Product Lineup

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With intelligent navigation, Clean Base® Automatic Dirt Disposal, personalized cleaning and a new look, the Roomba® i3+ robot vacuum fits into your life

BEDFORD, Mass., Sept. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), the leader in consumer robots, today expanded its Roomba® robot vacuum lineup with the launch of the new Roomba® i3+, a stylish new Roomba vacuum packed with advanced features. Starting at $599 USD, the Roomba i3+ offers intelligent navigation, self-emptying capability with Clean Base® Automatic Dirt Disposal, and an expanded range of personalized cleaning features powered by the recently launched iRobot Genius™ Home Intelligence. 

Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8620652-irobot-roomba-i3-plus-vacuum/

„Innovative cleaning experiences have been, and always will be, foundational to our product offerings,“ said Keith Hartsfield, executive vice president and chief product officer at iRobot. „We have a proven track record of delivering products that make consumers‘ lives easier. The Roomba i3+ expands our lineup to offer not only exceptional cleaning performance and value, but greater personalization and control delivered by iRobot Genius. The iRobot Genius platform also allows the Roomba i3+ to evolve and get smarter over time, providing new ways for customers to clean their unique homes.“

Take vacuuming off your plate
Similar to the iRobot Roomba i7+ and Roomba s9+ robot vacuums, the Roomba i3+ comes equipped with the Clean Base® Automatic Dirt Disposal. With Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal, the robot empties debris on its own, with no intervention from the user. Consumers don’t have to think about emptying the bin for months at a time or worrying the robot won’t finish the job due to a full bin. The Roomba i3+ automatically empties up to 60 days‘ worth of dirt and debris into the Clean Base, which doubles as the robot’s charging station. The debris is then locked away in the Clean Base’s enclosed AllergenLock™ bag that uses four layers of allergen blocking material to trap 99 percent of pollen and mold.

The Roomba i3+ purposefully and logically cleans in neat rows to navigate multiple rooms within the home, across hard floors and carpet. If the robot’s battery runs low, the Roomba i3+ will automatically recharge and resume cleaning until the job is complete.

The Roomba i3+ is also equipped with a High-Efficiency Filter that captures 99 percent of pollen, mold, dust mites, and cat and dog allergens. The robot’s 3-Stage Cleaning System consists of Dual Multi-Surface Rubber Brushes that work together to effectively clean, a specially designed Edge-Sweeping Brush to get into corners, and 10X the Power-Lifting Suction as compared to Roomba 600 Series. Using patented Dirt Detect™ technology, the Roomba i3+ knows where dirt builds up and focuses cleaning in those specific areas.

Adapts to your life, listens to your voice
The Roomba i3+ brings a thoughtful new design that fits well into consumers‘ homes, with a durable, woven texture that minimizes fingerprints and collects less dust. The hidden-until-lit light ring helps the robot blend into the background, only lighting up to communicate robot behaviors or notifications when the robot is actively cleaning.

Users can also get more out of their Roomba i3+ with the newly redesigned iRobot Home App, powered by iRobot Genius™, which takes users beyond standard app control to give them a personalized cleaning experience. Available for iOS and Android devices, iRobot’s state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and home understanding capabilities enable the Roomba i3+ to learn how you like to clean. The Roomba i3+ will offer personalized suggestions via the iRobot Home App, such as recommended cleaning schedules based on past cleaning jobs and helpful cleaning suggestions during pet-shedding or allergy seasons.

Event-based automations can be set up directly within the iRobot Home App, an exclusive capability for iRobot customers that is powered by iRobot Genius™ and IFTTT Connect. Whether you’re heading off to work or going for a hike, the Roomba i3+ can begin cleaning when prompted by location-based services like Life360 or from smart home devices, like the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock. When paired with Alexa enabled devices or the Google Assistant, users can control the Roomba i3+ with just the sound of their voice. The Roomba i3+ also supports Imprint Link™ Technology so that it can team up with the iRobot Braava jet® m6 mopping robot to deliver an extra level of clean.

Pricing and Availability
The Roomba i3+ robot vacuum is available immediately for purchase online in the U.S. ($599 USD) and Canada ($749 CAD) on www.irobot.com and www.irobot.ca, and in retailers later this September. The Roomba i3 robot vacuum can also be purchased without the Clean Base® starting at $399 USD and $499 CAD. The Roomba i3+ is expected to be available in other international markets beginning in Q1 2021.

IFA 2020: Neato Robotics stellt nächste Generation der Premium Roboterstaubsauger vor

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Die intelligenten Roboterstaubsauger von Neato D10, D9 und D8 erleichtern den Haushalt

Berlin, September 2020 — Neato Robotics, ein führender Anbieter von intelligenten Roboterstaubsaugern für den Haushalt, stellt auf der IFA 2020 in Berlin die neuesten Modelle des Premium-Lineups vor: Neato D10, D9 und D8. Die Roboterstaubsauger von Neato verfügen über modernste Technologien, lassen sich mühelos konfigurieren und sind besonders langlebig – damit sind sie ultimative Partner für den Haushalt. 

„Bei den neuen Modellen vereinen wir Neatos 15-jährige Expertise mit den Anforderungen unserer Kunden und neuesten Innovationen in Sachen Robotik und KI-Technologie“, sagt Thomas Nedder, CEO von Neato. „Das neue Neato-Sortiment an intelligenten Roboterstaubsaugern ist einzigartig in Design und Technologie und zeichnet sich durch höchste Benutzerfreundlichkeit aus. Die neue App MyNeato ist nur ein Beispiel dafür, wie unser Unternehmen mithilfe von Robotik den Alltag erleichtert.“

Die neuen Roboterstaubsauger von Neato überzeugen durch eine hohe Verarbeitungsqualität und intuitive, unkomplizierte Anwendung im ersten D-förmigen Design der Branche. Mit der breitesten Bürste und dem größten Staubbehälter auf dem Markt erreichen Neato-Besitzer eine besonders gründliche Reinigung in jeder Ecke und an jeder Kante. Dank des ersten verfügbaren True HEPA-Luftfilters erfasst der Neato D10 bis zu 99,97 Prozent der Allergene und Partikel (wie Staub und Hautschuppen) – dabei werden auch kleinste Schmutzpartikel mit einer Größe von gerade einmal 0,3 Mikrometern beseitigt. Die Konfiguration eines Neato-Roboters ist darüber hinaus unkompliziert und schnell: Anwender stellen eine Bluetooth-Verbindung mit einem WLAN-Netzwerk her und folgen im Anschluss den Anweisungen der neuen MyNeato App. Neato bietet seinen Kunden damit nicht nur eine besonders einfache und intuitive Installation, sondern auch den aktuell kürzesten Einrichtungsvorgang der Branche.

Neato D10

Der Neato D10 verfügt über eine Laufzeit von bis zu 150 Minuten, einen True HEPA-Filter – der bis zu 99,97 % der Allergene mit einer Größe von nur 0,3 Mikrometern erfasst – und die neueste LIDAR-basierte Technologie LaserSmartTM – damit steht der Neato D10 für herausragende Leistung und Reinigungskraft.

Neato D9

Mit seinem besonders leistungsstarken HEPA-Filter, der 99,5 % der Staubpartikel und Allergene erfasst, einer Laufzeit von bis zu 120 Minuten und der charakteristischen Neato-Technologie LaserSmartTM reinigt der Neato D9 überall und jederzeit – sogar im Dunkeln.

Neato D8

Der Neato D8 setzt auf die bewährte und branchenführende Qualität und Technologie von Neato und kommt beispielsweise mit dem größten Staubbehälter der Branche, einer extrabreiten Bürste und der neuesten Technologie LaserSmartTM daher. So erreicht der Roboterstaubsauger eine noch größere Benutzerfreundlichkeit, eine Laufzeit von bis zu 90 Minuten und eine effektivere Reinigung.

Die neue Produktlinie ist ab Herbst 2020 bei teilnehmenden Händlern in Nordamerika, Europa und Japan sowie in den USA und auch unter NeatoRobotics.com erhältlich.

Über Neato

Neato Robotics entwickelt intelligente Roboter für den Haushalt, die das Leben verbessern und alltägliche Herausforderungen lösen. Neato hat es sich zum Ziel gesetzt, Anwendern ein personalisiertes Reinigungserlebnis zu bieten – um dies zu gewährleisten, entwickeln sich die Roboter stetig weiter und passen sich an die Anforderungen der Nutzer an. Zu den aktuellen Neato-Innovationen zählen neben erstklassigen Reinigungstechnologien unter anderem die intelligente LIDAR-basierte Navigationstechnologie LaserSmartTM sowie Features zum Mapping und zur Smart Home-Konnektivität. Weitere Informationen finden Sie unter: NeatoRobotics.com. Besuchen Sie Neato auch auf Facebook, Instagram, Twitter und Youtube.

Meet and greet service robots at automatica Demo Park

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Interact with the world’s leading robots and see them in action at the dedicated Service Robotics Demo Park at automatica 2018. From June 19 to 22 in Hall B4, over a dozen exhibitors will be showcasing a wide range of professional service robots, in applications from detection and individual picking of objects, cleaning and transport to rehabilitation, personal assistance and public relations.

“Hey, I’m Paul, I’m a mobile service robot. Can I guide you through the park?”

Making its premiere at automatica’s Demo Park this year, Care-O-bot 4 is a mobile robot assistant that actively guides and supports humans in environments such as retail stores, hostels, offices and, as in this case, exhibition spaces.

If visitors give a positive answer to its question, Care-O-bot 4 will ask if they are interested in a particular application area and will offer to guide them there or provide alternative suggestions.

Care-O-bot 4 aka “Paul” is already guiding customers in several retail stores. Dr. Ulrich Reiser, CEO and Director of Care-O-bot 4 developer Mojin Robotics, expects the number of Care-O-bots operating in public to increase significantly in the next years: “The goal of Mojin is to support qualified personnel by taking over simple tasks, thereby increasing their productivity and satisfaction”.

Rehabilitation robots and more
Providing a different kind of assistance, in physical rehabilitation, the RIC (Robotic Interactive Care) system, a product of the company BEC, combines a lightweight KUKA iiwa robot to enable re-learning of motor skills after neurological injury. The robot’s end effector is fitted with a baby shoe, ready for a game of football. The patient grasps the shoe and plays the game on the big screen in front of them. The level of assistance can be adjusted and, says BEC Project Manager, Oussama Benfarah, “the system provides real-time tracking of biofeedback data and an interactive gaming aspect that keeps the patient motivated.”

Mobile, lightweight and focused on personal assistance applications (it can complete 30 different tasks altogether), Lio is a human-friendly collaborative mobile robot with a robotic arm, voice control, sensory skin and internet functions, developed by the Swiss company F&P Robotics. Lio can help elderly and handicapped people, support nursing staff, serve food, clear the table, clean, and more.

Another robot that’s equally at home both in a domestic and factory environment, is the “KINOVA Ultra lightweight robotic arm”, designed by French-Canadian company, Kinova. Originally intended to aid people with upper-body limitations, this is a six-axis robotic manipulator arm with a two or three-finger hand that can individually grasp different kind of objects. Whereas in assistive applications it might be used for adjusting a thermostat or brushing one’s teeth, at automatica 2018 it will be shown in an industrial application where visitors can ask the robot to pick up specific tools from a table. “Kinova’s mission is to further the human cause by empowering people to achieve the extraordinary,” says Olivier Pharand-Allard, Regional Manager for Europe. “Our robotic arm solutions are very safe, versatile and power-efficient, allowing people to be more autonomous, more efficient, and to achieve more. There is no need too small, no task too great.”

Flexible, interactive and easy to use
In today’s professional service robotics sector, complicated programming and tricky interfaces are a thing of the past; “easy-to-use”, “versatile” and “human-friendly” are the buzz words not only at this year’s automatica. These are qualities also to be found in the plug and play smart automation product of the Belgian company Pick-it. Integrating with all leading robot brands, it is a 3D camera and software to detect individual parts’ positions, even in poor visibility, when items overlap or come in varying sizes and materials.

Whether visitors are investigating pick-and-place options or want to meet Care-O-bot 4 “Paul”, the Service Robotics Demo Park should be on everyone’s priority list at automatica 2018. Never before has there been such a wealth of service robots to watch, learn about and interact with.

The exhibits will be showcased daily in shows presented by an emcee. The shows start every full hour.