The already competitive market for mobile robots continues to go global. OTTO Motors today announced a series of partnerships to make its autonomous mobile robots available to a global audience.
The Kitchener, Ontario-based company also said it has successfully completed third-party assessments to demonstrate that its products meet or exceed all relevant safety standards in Europe and the U.S., including ANSI/RIA R15.08, which it helped to define.
“One of the things that sets OTTO Motors apart is our process-first approach to automating material handling,” stated Rick Baker, chief revenue officer of OTTO Motors. “It is how we’re able to achieve facility-scale transformation for our customers and why we’ve been very intentional about our growth.”
OTTO Motors is a unit of Clearpath Robotics Inc. and provides autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and software for materials handling in factories and warehouses. The company said its easy-to-use products can not only provide a rapid return on investment (ROI), but also scale to hundreds of devices.
OTTO Motors expands international partnerships
OTTO Motors said it has more than 3 million hours of driving experience, and its customers include some of the world’s most recognized brands, including General Electric Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. The company has partnered with systems integrators around the world and expanded its global partnership program.
“We partner with the very best integrators and tech leaders to provide customers with industry expertise to automate a wide range of workflows in their facilities and regional presence to provide top-tier support,” Baker said. “Seventy percent of our customers are Global 500. We’re proud today to announce global coverage and safety compliance worldwide.”
OTTO is collaborating with DesignPro Automation and Romias Robotics in Europe, as well as global integrator Grenzebach Group. These partners are in addition to newly operational warehousing operations in the Netherlands and Japan to better serve customers in those regions, it said.
Based in County Limerick, Ireland, DesignPro Automation is a provider of precision automation, robotics, and machine-build services. The company mainly focuses on advanced automation for the medtech sector, but it has also supplied the pharmaceutical, automotive, aviation, cosmetics, and renewable energy sectors.
“We are extremely pleased to partner with OTTO Motors and to bring the safety and reliability of their AMRs to a European audience,” said Redmond McDonnell, CEO of DesignPro Automation. “As labor shortages continue to hamper so many industry sectors, it is our hope that our partnership with OTTO will help to keep productivity high with our customers.”
Netherlands-based Romias Robotics said its flexibility has enabled it to complete numerous projects and to grow into a reliable partner for midsize to large companies.
“The value of the human worker has never been more pronounced, nor as scarce,” said Martijn Jansen, founder and CEO of Romias Robotics. “Our partnership with OTTO Motors will help to introduce strategic automation into our customers’ workflow so that workers can avoid tasks that are dirty, dangerous, or dull.”
Hamlar, Germany-based Grenzebach Group is a new global partner for OTTO's goods-to-person automation. With more than 20 offices around the world, Grenzebach specializes in robotic handling technologies for the fulfillment logistics, glass processing, solar, building materials, and industrial process technology sectors.
“The warehousing fulfillment and manufacturing industries are at a crossroads where supply can only meet demand through more efficient and effective automation,” said David Schwebel, executive vice president at Grenzebach Group. “Our partnership with OTTO Motors is another large step forward in evolving our customers’ logistical arenas with strategic automations.”
The new partners join OTTO’s existing partner network:
- Bastian Solutions (Global)
- Altech (Japan)
- ADDE (Australia)
- CR Automation (New Zealand)
- Pulse Integration (North America)
OTTO helps develop robot safety standards
OTTO Motors said that it helped develop the first standard addressing requirements for industrial mobile robots. The company joined with leading robot manufacturers; end users such as Amazon, Ford, GM, Honda, P&G, Nissan; and other government and non-government organizations such as the National Institute of Standads and Technology (NIST), UL, TUV, and academia to develop ANSI RIA 15.08-1.
“As the AMR market has grown, so too has the need for accompanying safety standards in the U.S. and abroad,” said Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3). “OTTO Motors’ participation on our standards committee and leadership on this issue has helped to raise the bar for worker safety.”
OTTO claimed that its fleet meets or exceeds the new standard. “Our solutions are a force multiplier to the talented people already deployed in these facilities, so we take their safety and productivity to heart as we purposely build and deploy automated solutions,” said Baker.
RIA 15.08 is the ANSI Standard most closely equivalent to ISO 3691-4 and CE Machinery Directive compliance in Europe. OTTO Motors also recently received CE certification across its fleet.
OTTO AMRs and charging systems also adhere to other safety standards, including ISO 13849-1 (2015), ISO 12100 (2010), ANSI B56.5 (2019), and IEC 60204-1 (2018).
OTTO will demonstrate its software and AMR fleet at Automatica, a trade show typically held in Munich, Germany, but which will be held virtually this year from June 22 to 24.
Article topics
Email Sign Up
Related Mobile Robots News
Related Companies
