Autonomous Robots
What are Autonomous Robots?
An autonomous robot is a type of robot that can understand and move around its environment independently. They have the characteristic of recognizing and learning from their environment to make decisions independently.
Autonomous robots are intelligent machines capable of performing tasks in the world on their own, without explicit human control. We find very diverse examples in warehouses, logistics, health, hospitality, agriculture and many other situations.
What are autonomous robots used for?
Autonomous robots are used to improve the speed and accuracy of routine operations, especially in warehouse and manufacturing spaces. By working together with humans, an autonomous robot reduces the risk of injury to employees in dangerous situations.
ASIR Project (2018-2022)
Autonomous Robots
ASIR stands for Automated Sewer Inspection Robot. The aim of ASIR is to develop a working prototype of an automatic sewer inspection system.
That is englobing three main objectives:
- To develop an autonomous robot to allow much more frequent, efficient and safe inspection of the otherwise difficult-to-access areas inside sewage pipelines. The robot will include an algorithm that can navigate and control the robot platform in pipes with a diameter down to 20cm.
- To develop an AI vision solution for automatic diagnostics and annotation of the condition of a pipe system based on video from the robot.
- To develop an asset management system with big data to use the frequent inspection data with a time dimensional analysis and with GIS and other data to understand and minimise asset repair and maintenance costs.
Inloc main role is at objectives (2) for the automatic defects detection system, by adapting its DLDDS product to Danish standards, and (1) regarding the localization and autonomous navigation of the robot.
ASIR is funded by IFD in Denmark, being a joint research project from two Danish universities (Aalborg and SDU), three water supplies (Aarhus Vand, HOFOR and VandCenter Syd) and some technology companies including a sewer inspection company (FKSSlamson) a software service company (Envidan) and two robotics companies (TinyMobileRobots and Inloc). The project will run for three years and a half starting at November 2018 and has a total budget of 24M DKK; 13M DKK from the Innovation Fund.
Autonomous mobile robot
An autonomous mobile robot (AMR) is a type of robot that understands and moves through its environment without being directly supervised by an operator or limited to a predetermined fixed path.
One of the features to highlight in collaborative mobile robots is that they run in dynamic environments and work alongside humans, who can feel completely safe and comfortable with this technology.