Managing Automation - October 2008 - (Page 21)

Seegrid S Spin-off from Carnegie Mellon lab infuses robots with intelligence by using sensors, software, and computing power. eegrid Corp., founded in 2003 to revive the robotics market, is the developer of the G Series industrial mobile robots, flexible systems that use sophisticated software to sense, move, analyze, and interact with its surroundings. The company was formed as a spin-off from Carnegie Mellon University’s Mobile Robot Lab, where Seegrid’s industrial mobile robotics (IMR) technology was researched and applied. The products, which include the General Purpose (GP8) robotic pallet truck with 8,000-pound capacity and the General Purpose (GT3) tugger with 3,000 pound capacity, are more than simple automated guided vehicles (AGVs), the company says. Seegrid robots take pictures of the environment and interpret the data using 3D evidence grid software. The robot “learns” its surroundings, which makes changing its path easy and affordable — no ripping and replacing wires in the floor. “What is so different about us is that our technology is so flexible,” says Greg Cronin, Seegrid’s executive vice president. “The route of the robot can be changed in a matter of minutes, and that is very important because so many companies want flexibility in their own manufacturing capabilities.” Many companies are turning to robots to fill an anticipated workforce shortage as baby Greg Cronin boomers retire over the next few years. “We Executive Vice President saw the Seegrid technology as an effective and economical way to make our warehouses and distribution centers more productive,” says Pete Rector, executive vice president of Genco, i FOUNDED: 2003 PRODUCT/CATEGORY: G Series (GP8 and GT3)/Industrial mobile robots INDUSTRY SEGMENTS SERVED: Any industry that requires material handling in a production or warehouse setting KEY PROBLEM SOLVED: Flexible, affordable robot DIFFERENTIATION: The robot does not require tapes, wires, magnets, or lasers to move. It uses a vision system and 3D evidence grid technology that can sense and interpret its surroundings, enabling it to “learn” the environment and move autonomously. CUSTOMERS: Giant Eagle, GENCO, Daimler Trucks FUNDING: Strategic investors (management) and angel investors a third-party logistics provider for CPG companies. Seegrid’s technology marks a significant shift in how robots work and are used. “We believe this is the kind of future we all want for robotics,” says Bruno Siciliano, president of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. “More capabilities, more reliability, and more interaction with human operators using low-cost sensors. This can be done thanks to massive use of adaptive algorithms.” Moving forward, Seegrid will continue to explore how robots can interact with humans and other systems — like a warehouse management systems (WMS) or manufacturing execution system (MES). — Stephanie Neil SlipStream S Analytics software packages help to quickly identify the root cause of a production problem. lipStream Software, founded in 2005, provides root cause analytics for process manufacturers seeking the underlying cause of production problems. Its products include the PM Event Analyzer, which provides ondemand root cause analysis; RT/rca, for real-time root cause analytics; and RT/rca-sim, which adds a built-in simulator to real-time root cause analytics. In complex process manufacturing environments, identifying the precise cause of a production problem can mean excessive, costly downtime. Often there is not a simple one-to-one correlation behind a problem, since a sin- i gle instrument can be affected by several variables at a time. The more variables involved, the more quickly the possible permutations multiply. SlipStream Software mines plant historians using Smart Sequencer, a patented data modeling tool. The tool produces process models in as little as three hours, says Gary Hopkins, president and CEO of SlipStream. “Our customers are looking for process improvement applications that can save them money and time,” Hopkins says. “SlipStream’s root cause products show FOUNDED: 2005 them the ‘whys’ behind production probPRODUCT/CATEGORY: PM Event Analyzer, RT/rca, RT/rca-sim for lems linked directly to the bottom line.” root cause analysis SlipStream’s root cause analysis simulaINDUSTRY SEGMENTS SERVED: Process manufacturing, including Gary Hopkins tion product, RT/rca-sim, provides particusteel, pulp and paper, chemicals, bio-pharmaceuticals, power/energy President & CEO lar value with its capability to pull data from KEY PROBLEM SOLVED: Because today’s complex production prodata historians or plant automation systems, combined with simulacesses can be impacted by thousands of variables, traditional statistical tion used to compare “golden batch” runs with a run that produced process control tools cannot determine the true root cause of a problem. off-spec product, says Julie Fraser, president of marketing and Root cause analytics provide a mathematical answer underlying a production research consultancy Cambashi Inc. “The simulation of possible corproblem or bottleneck. rective actions can show how effective those actions would be — an DIFFERENTIATION: Focused on providing root cause products that area that many companies struggle to gauge.” analyze production problems and reveal exactly what caused them SlipStream is preparing to release a new real-time predictive/root CUSTOMERS: PURAC, MeadWestvaco Corp. cause application later this year, Hopkins says, which will tell a user in real time what caused a production problem and what they should do FUNDING: Owner-funded next to correct it. — Diane Himes 21 October 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - October 2008

Managing Automation - October 2008 Contents Take 1 Systems Integration Market Braces for a Wave of Consolidation Kinaxis Launches Program to Lure i2 Customers Patent May Give Mobility a Needed Shot in the Arm New Group Aims at More Efficient Smart Devices Solar, Life Sciences Will Be the Next Frontier For Robots Notes Cover Story:�2009 Companies to Watch Special Report:�Siemens plus UGS: Is the Merger Working? Transformation:�Driving Energy Efficiency Integration: How Clean is Your Data Industries:�Fed Raises Red Flag on Chemicals Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - October 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.