July 20, 2020 – SEATTLE – WiBotic, a Seattle company that specializes in advanced wireless charging and power optimization solutions for the rapidly expanding ecosystem of aerial, mobile and marine robots, today announced a partnership with Ubiquity Robotics and the availability of a new wireless charging kit and fleet power optimization software for the Magni robot.
Autonomous Charging for Ubiquity Robotics Customers
The new solution enables Magni users to deploy autonomous charging for their robots. Magni is an affordable autonomous mobile robotic platform that lists for $1,900. The Magni doesn’t ship with a battery, so users first have to purchase a third party battery ($15-$150 depending on battery size and storage capacity). Ubiquity Robotics markets their solution primarily to DIY’ers, research labs and as a development platform for companies creating new AMR solutions.
The WiBotic kit consists of an AC-powered free-standing portable transmitter base station that can be located anywhere autonomous robot charging is needed. Additional components, including a wireless power receiver antenna and Onboard Charger (OC) circuit are fitted to the Magni robot and connected to the battery using supplied mounting hardware. The process requires only a few minutes per robot, making it simple to install on new robots or as a retrofit package for existing Magni customers.
Wibotic antennae on a Magni Robot (image courtesy of Wibotic)
After installation, the robot simply needs to navigate to within a few centimeters of the transmitter base station for charging to begin. Charge voltage and speed (current), amongst other parameters, are pre-programmed but are fully adjustable through the WiBotic software GUI and/or APIs. ROS drivers are also available. Different versions of the kit with different power levels are available depending upon how quickly the robot must be charged. Finally, given the many-to-many capability of the WiBotic system, multiple robots can share a single base station or multiple base stations throughout a facility to truly optimize power delivery across an entire fleet of robots.
The robot only has to be within a few centimeters to operate (image courtesy of Wibotic)
“Ubiquity Robotics has developed an extremely cost effective and functional robot for a wide range of applications” said Ben Waters, WiBotic CEO. “Their customers now have access to an automatic charging system that reduces or eliminates the labor and maintenance costs typically associated with manual battery charging or battery swapping. Our fleet power management software also provides visibility into robot uptime and productivity, allowing robots to complete more work while minimizing charging downtime.”
The kit will be sold by WiBotic to new and existing Magni customers in various vertical markets. “Magni’s unique combination of size, payload adaptability and support for the ROS operating system have made it popular for applications ranging from factory/warehouse materials conveyance to chemical and UV disinfection.” said David Crawley, Ubiquity CEO. “As with any robot, though, its value isn’t fully realized if users have to constantly deal with the recharging process. WiBotic’s system will cut the cord for Magni, making it completely self-sufficient for the first time.”
More information on the wireless power kit for Magni can be found in the “Products” portion of the WiBotic website where customized charging kits for other robots and drones are listed.
