AMHERST, NH -- (Marketwire) -- 10/13/09 -- New Seekur Jr
Unmanned Guided Vehicle (UGV), from MobileRobots Inc, jump-starts
industry-of-the-future inventions like self-driving cars, soldier-following
carts, fruit-picking wagons and teams of reconnaissance scouts. Before
Seekur Jr, roboticists needed to jerry-rig a standard vehicle, build their
own, or seek the rare six-figure grant to buy a typical UGV. Seekur Jr
changes all that.
This is not the first time MobileRobots succeeded in advancing research
while growing the robotics
market. Back in 1995 when the company was founded, most researchers had to
build any robot they wanted to study. With luck, the device held together
long enough to test. MobileRobots introduced the sturdy Pioneer robot at 10% the cost of
other ready-made platforms. Suddenly, tens of thousands of students could
study robotics and focus on advancing knowledge instead of fixing robots.
Robotics research took off!
Designing an affordable robot for various weather conditions (IP 54, from
-5 to +35°C), 45-degree grades and variable terrain was only possible by
starting from tested technologies from the original Seekur and
MobileRobots' other platforms. Seekur Jr's 0.8 X 1m size eases storage and
transport, crucial for robot teams. Seekur Jr's field-swappable batteries
mean no wasted hours waiting for robots to charge. Seekur Jr users also
benefit from MobileRobots powerful software architecture and tools that
ease integration and programming.
Seekur Jr offers many accessories: MobileRobots Outdoor Autonomous Guidance System (MOGS)
with GPS and laser-rangefinder, MobileRanger
3-D TOF camera and C3-D Stereovision obstacle avoidance. Seekur Jr can
carry up to two arms and many cameras, as well as multiple PC's to support
processing-intensive applications.
Says Project Manager Seth Allen, "We designed Seekur Jr to maximize the
performance-cost ratio. Since more researchers can afford Seekur Jrs,
they'll develop robot applications more quickly, which will create new
industries and jobs more quickly to re-build the economy. It's a win all
around."
About MobileRobots Inc
MobileRobots Inc (www.mobilerobots.com) has made jobs easier for 14 years
with thousands of robot platforms and autonomous cores worldwide.
MobileRobots helped jumpstart global robotics growth with affordable,
general-purpose Pioneer robots in 1995. Now MobileRobots provides
autonomous navigation solutions with Motivity autonomy to
VARs and OEMs. The company operates from a 35,000 sq ft facility in
Amherst, NH, 50 minutes north of Boston.
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