Mobile robot fleet management: the “air traffic controller” for your autonomous intelligent vehicles
August 19, 2019
Mobile robots are one of the fastest-growing industrial automation technologies, and Omron is proud to offer one of the most advanced solutions for autonomous materials transport. Known as “autonomous intelligent vehicles” (AMRs), Omron’s LD Series robots are capable of self-navigating through dynamic and peopled environments using onboard lasers and mapping software.
It’s quite possible to have one or more AMRs working independently to provide autonomous materials transport. However, when mobile robot fleets get large, a fleet management system becomes especially crucial. Omron’s Enterprise Manager (EM) is a key solution for coordinating multiple robots while also taking care of traceability, job allocation and traffic control needs.
Fleet management technology can be compared to an air traffic controller that keeps everything running smoothly and maximizes the entire system’s efficiency. By continuously monitoring and coordinating fleets of up to 100 AMRs, EM helps robots work together as a team to solve complex challenges that would be beyond the capabilities of several robots working independently.
Traffic jams are one of the major concerns of robot fleets that lack a centralized management system. These typically occur when independently working robots arrive to the same place at the same time. As robots try to get around one another, they can fall into a pattern of movements that ultimately keeps them stuck in place. EM can help them reroute to escape these never-ending patterns of motion.
Another common cause of inefficiencies in non-coordinated robot systems is rooted in job assignment. Depending on how a particular application evolves throughout the workday, the original job assignment may not end up being the most efficient one. Rather than letting AMRs waste time by sticking to their assigned tasks, EM can prompt them to take on other tasks to bolster the efficiency of the system.
A fleet management system like EM can also look ahead. With knowledge of each robot’s capabilities and power level, it can plan their assignments with an eye towards future efficiency and stagger charging schedules to ensure that the entire fleet doesn’t run out of power simultaneously. Overall, Enterprise Manager is an essential way to minimize downtime in large robotic fleets.
