PITTSBURGH, PA — Aethon will demonstrate new products at Automate 2017 in Chicago specifically designed to address the needs of manufacturers looking to automate material movement and connect islands of automation within their plants. Aethon will showcase new mobile robots and software control systems allowing their robotic platform to achieve Level 4 autonomy as described in the IDC Market Spotlight, sponsored by Aethon titled “Indoor Autonomous Mobile Robots – A Maturity Framework”.

Aethon will feature the T3 and T3XL model robots, which represent the newest innovations in automated material movement. A live demonstration of these robots will showcase autonomous navigation, automatic pickup and drop off, as well as collaborative functions. The newest robots feature an expanded 1,400 lb. load capacity, 48” load platform and omnidirectional navigation.

In addition to the robots, Aethon will introduce a software platform that allows their customer’s engineering support staff to manage their entire fleet. Algorithms provide the customer’s engineering staff to manage the robot fleet including unattended management. Engineers are able to connect and remotely control any robot in their fleet even from a remote facility. This same technology has been proven in Aethon’s cloud command center and has successfully managed robots that have made over 20 million deliveries and traveled more than 3 million miles.

The TUG robot provides greater autonomous operation than other mobile robots on the market. As an example, it is able to autonomously locate its payload, pick it up, transport it and drop it off all without supervision or added infrastructure. This capability is very unique in the mobile robotics space and allows users to generate a better return on investment since labor is no longer needed at the loading and unloading zones. It also enables the fleet to respond directly to machine-to-machine communication since the robot can initiate and complete tasks with no human involvement.

“The level of maturity of Aethon’s TUG robot platform is impressive. The technology of the newest TUG robot platform meets L4 criteria across all dimensions. This level of maturity provides manufacturers real advantages in terms of automation driving productivity, efficiency, and helping to deliver a rapid return on investment,” says John Santagate, Research Manager at IDC Manufacturing Insights.

Aethon’s products are currently in use by global manufacturing firms looking to streamline and automate intralogistics. TUG robots automate material movement in vertical markets such as automotive and transportation manufacturing, electronics manufacturing and assembly, consumer goods, semiconductors, medical devices and contract manufacturing operations.

Aethon representatives will be speaking at Automate 2017. Aldo Zini, CEO of Aethon will present on the topic of collaborative mobile robots Wednesday at 8am with a presentation titled “Connecting Islands of Automation with Mobile Robots”. Tony Melanson, VP of Marketing will present on the topic of human-robot interaction of collaborative robots Wednesday at 3pm with a presentation titled “Innovation Beyond Specifications”.

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