''The development of these technologies has been hindered by the acquisition of Industrial Perception (IPI) by Google in 2013. IPI was at the forefront of clever AI combined with ranging sensors and cameras in being able to quickly identify, categorize and instruct the robot how best to grasp random objects. Since their acquisition, their technology is no longer visible to the market."

''Aethon is a Pittsburgh-based provider of autonomous tugs used in hospitals and factories. Some of their AGVs (they have more than 400 in the field) have been outfitted for secure medication delivery, and all of their robots are assisted with their Cloud Command Center, a 24/7/365 remote monitoring service to get the tug out of whatever unplanned situation in which it finds itself.''

https://www.therobotreport.com/news/filling-the-void-left-by-kiva-systems-acquisition-by-amazon

Aethon, a mobile robotics company focusing on the hospital industry, started their Cloud Command Center in 2013 from which they remotely monitor, support and even control the autonomous mobile robots installed at their customer's locations. Aethon staffs the command center 24/7/365 and has over 400 TUGs in 140 locations online and in constant communication with the command center. Occasionally a TUG finds itself in a situation where it needs help. Rather than rely on customer personnel to address this, the command center takes over and manages the situation.

Algorithms monitor the status of each TUG in real-time and if the algorithms detect a TUG might need help an alert is sent to an on-duty support staff member who, using a secure VPN connection, can connect to the TUG’s on board sensors to assess the situation. In the simplest of solutions, the operator can drive the device out of the situation. Whatever the case, the command system updates with the solution and the criteria that precipitated the situation. Thus the system is not only handling problems, it is learning how to anticipate those very same situations in the future and proactively prevent them''

http://roboglobal.com/big-data-the-cloud-and-fanuc-and-kuka

''He says all of the communication is through Wi-Fi and there’s also a secure VPN channel that connects to the remote command center over the Internet''

http://www.aethon.com/?s=sensors

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