Opportunities and Potential of IoT in the Robotics Industry: An Example
As in many other areas, IoT solutions are more and more frequently being used in robotics. And rightly so, as IoT has great potential and promises innovative features in many sectors, easier handling of the product, and opportunities to increase efficiency and product optimization even after the sale.
So, if you want to remain competitive, it is inevitable to rely on IoT.
Despite the many advantages, however, it also presents manufacturers with challenges: The new possibilities, such as data evaluation via a web app, over-the-air updates, and remote access, also increase the demands of end customers because a certain range of functions is expected right from the start. So, if you want to remain competitive, it is inevitable to rely on IoT. Consequently, many companies in the robotics sector have three options: They either develop their own solution — which can be very expensive — find an off-the-shelf solution — which usually doesn’t quite fit after all — or do nothing. However, finding a middle ground is often a challenge that needs to be addressed.
SWARM: An Alternative
The Winterthur-based startup Earlybyte, a software company founded in 2018 and has eleven employees in three different countries today, offers an intriguing solution. The company specializes in various IoT solutions and has been working on a versatile fleet operation software since 2022: SWARM, a platform to which robots are connected, as long as customers agree. SWARM corresponds to the toolbox concept, enabling companies to use and market IoT features in their robots at an early stage.
The generated performance data and visualizations help proactively improve the product and adapt it to the client’s wishes.
This has several advantages: First, you can focus on your own product and its performance. For example, the dashboard, the robot overview, and the mission overview provide important data about the general performance of each robot but also details about the mission and a calculation of the costs as well as their savings in figures and graphics. This allows centralized product optimization, with multiple links and search and filter options supporting navigation. The generated performance data and visualizations help proactively improve the product and adapt it to the client’s wishes.
On the other hand, the Fleet Operation Platform and its features can make you competitive faster or even give you a market advantage. Here, IoT enables new ways of handling, which can impact various areas. SWARM, for example, works with role-based access. Here, manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as customers, have predefined access authorization, which not only simplifies product management but also allows customers to view performance data and information about the condition of their robots. Furthermore, malfunctions and bugs become quickly visible and can be identified easier by the manufacturer via the preconfigured error messages. This allows more efficient troubleshooting and consequently increased customer service.
Example: KEMARO AG
SWARM is already in use for the cleaning robot K900 from the manufacturer Kemaro AG. The autonomous robot for industrial cleaning strengthens the satisfaction of its clientele through the additional benefits of a simple and accessible IoT solution. Especially in industry, where cleaning can bring health risks for people depending on the location, an autonomously functioning robot whose performance can be accessed via a platform is lucrative and innovative. Especially the possibility for customers to access the generated performance data of their purchased robots, as well as their status, is very appealing. In the case of Kemaro, the advantage of an IoT solution is not only to adapt the product more optimally to the clientele’s needs but also to give them a deeper insight into their purchased product and thus additionally justify the investment.
IoT thus brings many new possibilities and opportunities in the robotics industry but also challenges: Many manufacturers face the problem that their clientele expects products with IoT features, but these cost a lot or have to be developed in-house. However, IoT solutions such as SWARM show that simple, low-cost options exist and harbor potential: robot manufacturers can adapt their products to the wishes and use of their clientele through various insights and optimize the quality of customer service through new IoT-enabled features, such as troubleshooting. In the end, the robotics industry shows that IoT solutions are not only possible but have great potential to be discovered.
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I’m a marketing and communication specialist at a startup and study German and English language and literature at the University of Bern. My blog consists of articles about the startup scene as well as poetry and the expression of my love for literature.
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