Formic focuses on ease of use with new robot software

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Formic said its Core OS simplifies deploying, operating, and maintaining robots.| Credit: Formic

Formic Technologies, a Robotics-as-a-Service automation company in Chicago, has released a suite of software tools to accelerate and simplify the deployment of robots. The company’s software enables robots to adjust to new obstacles in operating area, connect to new peripherals, and monitor sensor data, production rates, uptime, cycle times, and more.

All of the process information captured by the Core software feeds into the Formic Colony 2.0 performance dashboard. This software monitors total system performance and uses AI to analyze the data coming from all robots, enabling predictive analysis of anomalies and preventative operations to minimize downtime.

Formic’s technicians can use this data and the remote system access provided by the software to resolve issues from a distance, enabling a swift return to production should any stoppages occur.

While the Formic Colony toolkit is primarily leveraged by the company’s operations team to service customer deployments, it is also available for larger businesses to use internally with more advanced teams responsible for automation systems in multiple locations.

Formic partners with Jacobi to shorten programming cycles

Jacobi Studio is a web app for setting up robots. | Credit: Jacobi Robotics

Earlier this year, Jacobi Robotics came out of stealth with the launch of its software and a partnership with Formic Technologies. 

Jacobi Robotics chose to partner with Formic as it launched its Jacobi Studio product because of the company’s platform, which is designed for simplifying palletizing and packing application deployments. The company also has a large installed base of palletizing customers, with a backlog of systems to be deployed.

The partners said the addition of the Jacobi Studio to the Formic operating system will enhance the overall ease of use and capability of the combined system. It will also enable Formic application engineers to deliver systems faster to end customers.

The partnership initially targets robotic palletizers that stack cases onto pallets for storage or shipment. More than $400 billion worth of U.S. trade is exported annually on pallets.

Editor’s Note: This article was syndicated from our sister site Engineering.com.