​August 28, 2019
OMRON announced today that they will be demonstrating their new autonomous mobile robot platform at the 2019 PACK EXPO in Las Vegas. The event takes place on September 23-25, 2019.
​A Combination of Core Technologies
​When OMRON purchased Adept Technologies​ in 2016, they acquired a market leading mobile technology ​in the Adept LD Autonomous Intelligent Vehicle. At the time of the acquisition, neither OMRON nor Adept had a collaborative robot in their portfolio. Fast forward three years, and the Adept LD ​autonomous mobile robot is now the OMRON LD ​AIV, and it is opening new markets for OMRON. In the last year, OMRON has also released its new collaborative robot arm ​with the OMRON TM.
With the release of the OMROM TM collaborative arm, it seemed like an obvious ​marriage, and only a matter of time, before the TM Robot ​ended up on top of the OMRON LD Robot. This is what OMRON will be showing at the upcoming PACK EXPO.
​Figure 1 – The OMRON Autonomous Mobile Manipulator
As we can see in figure 1 above, the OMRON TM Robot controller has been packaged neatly into a unit which fits on top of the OMRON Cart Transporter base. The collaborative robot sits on top of the controller unit, and appears to contain a workspace on top of the controller unit. You might imagine that this workspace can be used to store and transport products or work-in-progress between workstations.
The Cart Transporter base with attached TM Robot is then connected to the OMRON LD autonomous mobile robot, which can drive the collaborative robot manipulator anywhere in the facility. As of press time, we don’t know if the collaborative robot is taking power directly from the OMRON LD robot, or if it has its own battery pack. Also, we’re not sure if yet if this solution is avialable for sale, or simply a technology demonstration. We sure like where this concept is going, and look forward seeing it in operation.
​You’ll be able to see this solution live in the Omron Booth #LS-5970​. Anyone interested in learning more about the future of manufacturing should be certain to stop by Omron’s booth in the Lower South Hall as well as the Robotics Zone at PACK EXPO this coming September 23-25, 2019.
