The true power of a smart robotic palletizing system is hidden within its software. That is its motion planner – the “brain” that calculates every move the robot makes.Â
The motion planner practically calculates how the tip of the robot will move from point A to point B, without hitting any obstacles. If we go a bit deeper, it is also about how fast and reliably the calculation happens and how efficiently the generated trajectory can be executed by the robot. And if we go even further, it is about how reliably this calculation can happen at the limited CPU resources you have on the production floor.Â
Our team, having PhD expertise in motion planning and robotic control, has engineered an AI-based motion planner designed not just to meet but to exceed the demands of modern palletizing, providing you with a distinct competitive edge.Â
Let’s dig in.Â
The Engine of Intelligent Automation
Our motion planner is the core engine behind our all-in-one single/mixed palletizing/depalletizing software. It’s designed from the ground up to provide the ease-of-use you expect from a modern interface, combined with the raw power needed for complex, real-world applications.
Here’s how its key features translate into tangible benefits:
Blazing Speed for On-the-Fly AdaptabilityÂ
What it is: Our planner can calculate complex, collision-free trajectories in milliseconds.
Why it matters: This remarkable speed isn’t just a benchmark; it’s a critical enabler. It allows the system to perform these calculations on-line, meaning it can react and generate new paths in real-time. This opens the door for more dynamic applications like mixed-case palletizing or depalletizing, where conditions change rapidly. For single-SKU applications, it means incredibly swift calculation of a recipe, optimized to minimize cycle time. This responsiveness makes it one of the fastest and most adaptable planners on the market for palletizing tasks
AI-DrivenÂ
What it is: The planner leverages advanced, AI-based algorithms developed in-house.
Why it matters: Our algorithm uses probabilistic approaches to compute optimal paths, considering multiple constraints simultaneously – something traditional programming struggles with. This means the robot doesn’t just follow a pre-programmed path; it navigates its workspace intelligently, adapting to achieve its goal efficiently and safely, every time. This AI foundation is key to the planner’s speed, its comprehensive collision avoidance, and its ability to generalize across different robot models and tasks.
On-Premise, CPU-Based Power
What it is: The entire motion planning calculation runs on a standard CPU within a small industrial PC, on-premise.
Why it matters: This offers several key advantages:
- Reduced Costs & Complexity: You don’t need to invest in or integrate expensive, specialized GPU cards or other dedicated hardware.
- Deterministic Performance: On-premise processing ensures consistent and predictable planning times, unaffected by network latency or external dependencies.
- Easier Integration: It simplifies the overall system architecture, making deployment and maintenance more straightforward.
Collision-Free Guarantees
What it is: Our planner generates trajectories that are guaranteed to be collision-free. This isn’t just about avoiding walls; it includes:
- Static Obstacles: Permanent features of the workcell like safety fences, conveyors, or support structures.
- Robot Self-Collision: Preventing the robot’s own links from colliding with each other.
- Dynamic Obstacles: Crucially, this includes objects that appear or change position during operation, such as already placed boxes on the pallet.
Why it matters: This comprehensive approach significantly enhances reliability and safety. The ability to dynamically avoid placed boxes is essential for building stable and dense pallet patterns, especially in variable scenarios. It reduces the risk of product damage, equipment damage, and costly downtime, leading to more robust palletizing cells.
No singularities
What it is: Our motion planner is designed to be singularity-free. A “singularity” is a configuration where a robot joint can lose its ability to move in a certain direction, potentially causing the robot to get stuck, move erratically, or require a system reset.
Why it matters: This is the nightmare of every robotics engineer. Avoiding singularities is crucial for uptime and reliability. It means the robot can operate across its full workspace without unexpected halts or the need for complex manual interventions to resolve joint locks. This translates to more consistent production and less troubleshooting for your team and your customers.
Robot Agnostic
What it is: The planner is robot agnostic, having been validated on 4-DOF (Degrees of Freedom), 5-DOF, and 6-DOF industrial arms from various manufacturers. It also supports linear axes such as lifting columns and custom designed End-of-Arm Tooling (EOAT), like multi-chamber vacuum, clamping, and fork grippers.
Why it matters to you: This provides you with unparalleled flexibility. You can choose the best robot and EOAT for the specific application and budget without being locked into a particular hardware vendor. Our software adapts to your choice, speeding up the integration process.
Real-Time Trajectory Streaming
What it is: To ensure the robot accurately follows the planned path, we combine our planner with our real-time controller. This controller streams the trajectory to the robot.
Why it matters: Instead of just sending a few sparse via-points or only the final target pose, our system feeds the robot a continuous stream of all the in-between joint values. This ensures the robot’s actual movement mirrors the optimized, collision-free path generated by the planner with high fidelity. The result is smoother, more accurate motion, and a system that performs exactly as intended.
Empowering Integrators, Delivering Excellence
The advanced capabilities of our motion planner directly address many of the pain points robot integrators face:
- Reduced Development & Deployment Time: The combination of rapid recipe creation (under a minute via our touch interface) and an intelligent planner means less time spent on complex programming and path tuning.
- Lower Hardware Costs & Simplified Architecture: CPU-based operation eliminates the need for expensive specialized hardware.
- Higher Throughput & Performance: Fast, optimized, and collision-free motions maximize the number of cycles per minute.
- Increased Reliability & Uptime: Collision avoidance and singularity-free operation mean fewer errors and stops.
- Versatility for More Applications: The ability to handle dynamic environments and various robot types allows you to confidently tackle a wider range of palletizing projects.
- Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Deliver robust, efficient, and easy-to-operate palletizing cells that perform reliably.
- One Step Ahead from the Competition: Productize your robotic solutions and make them shineÂ
The technical sophistication of our motion planner is a direct result of the deep robotics expertise within our team. And while the planner itself is a powerhouse of complex algorithms, we’ve ensured that this power is accessible. Our software’s intuitive touch interface means that creating palletizing recipes is remarkably simple and fast.
Experience the Future of Palletizing
We invite you to see beyond the robot arm and look at the intelligence that drives it. Discover how Progressive Robotics can help you deliver superior palletizing systems that set you apart.
Contact us today for a discussion or to schedule a demo.
