Mobile robot streamlines food deliveries
Publisert 30. november 2020 i Flexible Manufacturing
Refining the robot
OMRON, Dimalog and Muotohiomo worked closely together to refine the operation and design of the robot so that they met the specific needs of the project. To move around successfully, the robot had to navigate the supermarket and tower block corridors as well as using elevators and service tunnels. As it moved, the robot both whistled and talked in Finnish (using a speech synthesiser).Running the trial
So, how did the trial work? Each delivery started with the receipt of an online order from a customer using the Asumi platform. Orders could also be placed through the supermarket by the shopping centre's smaller businesses. The items (mainly meals) would be collected at the supermarket and loaded by staff into the robot, which would then deliver the order to the relevant business or apartment. The customer would receive an automatic notification as soon as the robot delivered the item. Kaisa Spilling remarks: “During the coronavirus epidemic, the robot has brought lunches for homeworkers. Lunch time has been fully booked.”
Self-navigating robots
The robot used on the trial was an OMRON LD model - a self-navigating autonomous mobile robot (AMR). Unlike traditional autonomously guided vehicles (AGVs), OMRON’s mobile robots don’t need any expensive modifications to facilities (such as floor magnets or navigational beacons). They navigate by the natural features of the facility, having been designed to move material within challenging environments that might include confined passageways, as well as locations where there might be people moving around. OMRON’s software also integrates with a company’s other systems so that the robots can become operational in minimal time.