Mobile robots are spreading in warehouses to help meet e-commerce demand, but they can also be useful in the healthcare and hospitality industries. Techmetics Robotics LLC this week announced two products developed in-house. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based firm's TRV (for “Techmetics Robotic Vehicle”) series includes three robot bases and 10 systems for service applications.
The company's new products were designed in California and will be assembled at its U.S. facility.
“We started our new office in the U.S. two years ago, but our expansion plans were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mathan Muthupillai, CEO of Techmetics Robotics. “But we were not sitting idle. We focused on new product developments and advanced the mobile platform development schedule.”
“In addition to mobile platforms, we developed a UV disinfection robot and the high-security delivery robot or SDR,” he told Robotics 24/7. “We also enhanced all our existing solutions, like Butler and Concierge for contactless delivery.”
All about the base
The company said it uses safety-compliant SICK sensors and safety controllers. The TRV line also comes with a braking system on the drives for additional safety, said Techmetics. The company has designed the following:
- TRV Mini —a 150-lb. (68 kg) robot base unit
- TRV Lifter—a 350-lb. (158.5 kg) robot with a lifter mechanism
- TRV Max —a 450-lb. (204.1 kg) medium-range payload base unit
“We were using a third-party robot base from Omron and building our solutions, but we've worked on our own technology and can put any payload we want on top of that,” said Muthupillai. “Now we're ready with our own products.”
Techmetics Robotics noted that all of its existing mobile robots—including Drink, Concierge, Stack, and SDR—will be moved to the TRV Mini base. It has already completed the Butler and UV versions. They will be renamed “TRV Butler,” “TRV UV,” etc. from “Techi Butler,” “Techi UV,” etc.
Techmetics Robotics offers 'complete solution'
“So far, Techmetics has been seen more as a systems integrator than as a robot manufacturer. Now we are ready with a complete solution,” said Muthupillai. “We can supply our base to anybody who wants to create their own solution.”
The company is expanding its offerings for logistics and manufacturing in addition to the healthcare and hospitality industries. Techmetics products are currently available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
“We originally focused on hospitality, such as airports and casinos, but they lost a lot of deals due to the pandemic, so we shifted our focus to healthcare and manufacturing,” Muthupillai added. “The COVID-19 pandemic created a lot of awareness, and people are more receptive to robotics technology.”
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