Locus Robotics upgrades navigation capability with "Puffin" data-sharing system

Locus robots at Modex.

Warehouse automation specialist Locus Robotics Inc. has enhanced its mobile robots' navigation capability with an upgrade that enables its LocusBots to quickly adapt to changes in their environment, in real time, by sharing mapping information with each other as they drive. The upgrade, known as Locus Robotics Advanced Navigation 3.0 (LRAN3)—code-named "Puffin"—allows the autonomous, collaborative robots to adapt to the constantly changing conditions of e-commerce fulfillment warehouses, company COO and President Mike Johnson said in a briefing.

The robots communicate with each through a form of machine learning "light," trading data 10 to 20 times per second so they can learn together as any one of them sees new obstacles in the ever-changing warehouse. The new capability also allows users to quickly expand capabilities by adding extra robots "out of the box" with an instantaneous configuration, he said.

For more information, visit www.locusrobotics.com.