OTTO Motors Uses ProMat Platform

OTTO Motors, a division of Clearpath Robotics Inc., and provider of self-driving vehicle technology and services, held a press conference on Tuesday April 4, 2017 at ProMat to announce three significant advancements to the OTTO platform and customer experience.
“Industry 4.0 isn’t coming, it’s here,” said Simon Drexler, Director of Product at OTTO Motors. “You can see it on the show floor with displays of sensor technologies, 3D printing, and networking capability; it’s an exciting time to be a part of the industry.”

He added: “This year’s ProMat only opened yesterday, and already almost every customer who has visited our booth has expressed difficulty in finding enough labor to support their business. No matter what the business they’re in, whether manufacturing or warehousing, they’re having significant challenge filling roles inside of their companies and they’re looking at technology for a solution. These are the challenges that have fuelled our three announcements today.”

See OTTO Motors at #ProMat Booth 4846.

OTTO 100 Update
“The OTTO 100 is newly designed to showcase ruggedness. Something that I know very well is that when you rely on a piece of technology for a part of your process, it has to work. That’s why we’ve chosen an all-metal construction for the vehicle because no matter where it’s operating, they can take a beating and keep moving.”
“This technology is used in rugged manufacturing space, dynamic warehousing space, as well as scientific labs, so the design accounts for being in those differing environments.”
“OTTO 100 also has a 2 inch high built-in lift to allow for autonomous loading and unloading out of the box, which is very important in specific applications.”
“Safety is also of the upmost importance. Something we’re very proud of is that our OTTO software stack has been certified by some of our customer’s safety committees to operate on manned pathways within the plant. They treat OTTO more like a person walking around their plant than they do a forklift or a tugger. I can guarantee you that no safety committee is ever going to certify a forklift or tugger to operate on a manned path.”
Feature Launch of OTTO M
“OTTO M is the boss of the self-driving vehicles. It manages task assignment, charge across a single vehicle or a fleet, and is your gateway into Industry 4.0 in centralized operation data. OTTO M also houses our industry-leading mapping software, which allows our customers to update their facility map or waypoints at any time based on the changing dynamics of their facility – all updates can be done with a point and click interface on a tablet, mobile device or laptop.”
“It is also responsible for monitoring system performance, which takes into account the KPIs of the OTTO system integrated into your fleet. It’s the gateway to the centralized operations data. Having this real-time insight allows operators to make better, more informed decisions about how to improve your operation. It’s a critical component to have access to and understand within the automation loop today.”
OTTO M includes three levels of integration:
1. On-vehicle interfacing
2. Fleet interfacing allows for vehicles to be called to any station at any given time, with an at-station interface
3. Enterprise integrates with common ERP and custom MES systems through a standardized API.
“Why I’m so excited about how we’ve designed this software is that it gives our customers a way to get started right away, and also provides the depth integration for a full enterprise solution. Something we’re very passionate about working very closely with our customer when we’re making these updates and changes to our product line.”
Launch of Test Drive Program
“At ProMat this year, I want to inspire attendees to become a champion of Industry 4.0 technology. Take a look at all the technology that’s available on the ProMat floor and really start to understand how it can change the way operate – it’s not about continuous improvement anymore, it’s about step change improvement into how we operate in our industry today. But how can I ask that of my audience, if we’re not willing to offer a method of education? It’s for that reason that we’ve launched a program called Test Drive, which is about handing the keys to a self-driving vehicle.”
The 5 day program enables qualified opportunities to have a self-driving vehicle operating inside of an operators’ facility, with their people to better educate key stakeholders. The configurations are available in both OTTO 100 and OTTO 1500.

• Day 1: Entails getting the vehicle unpacked and integrated, which usually takes a couple of hours. Most customers have it up and running before lunch.
• Day 2-3: Allow users to push the limits of how self-driving vehicles operate inside the facility.
• Day 4-5: Collect and understand the operational data that better informs the stakeholders and the OTTO Motors team so we can put together a proposal for an enterprise-level integration that fits the needs of the facility.

“A program like this has never been formally introduce within our competitive landscape. We’ve put ourselves in our customer’s shoes and we believe it’s important for them to experience the technology and truly understand why it works, because making changes and investment in new technology can be daunting for some organizations. Most Test Drive customers see this as a simple, yet powerful tool to understand the potential of self-driving vehicles in the material handling market.”
Simon continued the conversation by completing a live demonstration. The demonstration included clearing the existing map, scanning the space and creating a real-time map, setting two way points (i.e.: a pick up and drop off), and clicking go. The demonstration showcased the ease of integration as the entire process was completed within a five minute span.