Responding to changing consumer needs, manufacturing companies today are looking for ways to increase flexibility and efficiency in intralogistics operations. To respond to this need, Omron has added a Selectable Autonomy functionality to the Fleet Operations Workspace (FLOW) core software for its line of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). The latest software tools can help build a flexible manufacturing system whilst improving fleet performance. Omron’s autonomous mobile robots can now simulate the behaviour of AGVs, but without any magnetic tape or physical guides.
Marketing manager, Miguel Garcés comments: “Thanks to Selectable Autonomy, users can choose the level of autonomy for each robot to further improve fleet performance. For example, companies can decide when they want the robot to move along the same path repeatedly, and bring a more flexible and new level of motion control to complex material transport applications.”
In addition to autonomy, fleet analytics is crucial in intralogistics applications. Omron’s Fleet Operations Workspace iQ (FLOW iQ) fleet analytics engine enhances the core user experience with powerful data collection and analytics through an intuitive user interface. The FLOW iQ provides the visualisation tools to generate graphics on the fly, and the intelligence to maximise application uptime and lifetime.
The benefits of Selectable Autonomy include an improved cycle time of up to 15%, fewer deadlocks in narrow spaces, and an improved sense of safety for human operators. The benefits of FLOW iQ include a quick view on how many robots are working, charging or waiting; flexible job statistics; pinpointing of network weak spots; and intelligent battery tracking.
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