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Realtime Robotics, which provides motion planning software for industrial robots, today launched its new Optimization-as-a-Service offering. The company said it combines proprietary optimization software with robotics and application engineering insights to help improve manufacturers’ productivity.

“Our Optimization-as-a-Service offering delivers results when you cannot spend months squeezing more productivity out of your automation cells,” said Peter Howard, CEO of Realtime Robotics, in a release. “It has the potential to forever change how manufacturing operations are conducted, optimizing for improved speed and efficiency, without interrupting existing processes.”

Boston-based Realtime Robotics claimed that its technology “generates optimized motion plans and interlocks to achieve the shortest possible cycle time in multi-robot cells.” The company said its systems enable more accurate, collision-free operations.

Realtime’s software is also intended to allow robots to function together in unstructured and collaborative workspaces, reacting to dynamic obstacles as soon as changes are perceived.

Last year, Realtime Robotics released its RapidPlan software to help manufacturers deploy robotics more easily. In June, the company raised $9.6 million to continue development and scaling efforts.

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Optimization-as-a-Service designed to tighten operations

Realtime Robotics said Optimization-as-a-Service can rapidly generate and test hundreds of thousands of potential robot paths. It can determine the best motion sequences based on target assignment, robot reach, and other parameters.

Automatically calculated interlocks allow robots to operate much closer together, the company asserted.

Customers just send their simulation CAD files for bottlenecked cells to Realtime Robotics. The company said its experienced engineers will then use proprietary algorithms to optimize the workcell in weeks, reducing cycle times with better paths and sequences. Once the results are validated, they can immediately be transferred to the production floor, it added.

Volkswagen pilots Realtime Robotics service

Realtime Robotics said that enterprises including major automakers can use Optimization-as-a-Service to get more out of existing or new automation and consistently exceed revenue goals.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in Hanover, Germany, wanted to quickly and efficiently improve the cycle time in a two-robot cell that was welding car doors for its ID. Buzz vehicle line. It used the service in a proof-of-concept project for electric vehicle production. 

Optimization-as-a-Service analyzes a customer’s existing digital twin, identifying bottleneck areas and recommending improvements based on the customer’s desired parameters, noted Realtime Robotics. It said it analyzed Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ simulation file without stopping or interfering with ongoing production.

The service’s recommendations helped the automotive manufacturer to reduce cycle time by several seconds, said Realtime Robotics.

The global market for robotic simulators could experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.04% between 2022 and 2027, reaching $1.12 billion, according to Technavio. The research firm attributed that growth to the need for systems integrators to save time and money and to increasing demand for virtual commissioning in manufacturing.