CarbonMeta Technologies Inc (COWI)

[Rob Mon]

Laptop on Wheels' Rolls in Savings

Device Description
Imagine there's a suspicious package in a public square.


Now imagine that in the time it takes a human to crawl into a protective suit – a suit that may not protect him from the hazardous chemicals anyway – a robot could roll up to the package, sample the substance and determine what it is.


Why this Device Is Cool
"We can put together a robot that goes right out into the field and detects what the chemical is before anyone even goes out there," says Lloyd Spencer, CoroWare President and CEO.

Utilizing mobile robots hasn't always been so easy.

Traditionally, mobile robot developers have effectively started from scratch with each new application. That's an incredibly time consuming process, because developers must write custom software to control the robots, and then test that software to catch all bugs that sometimes make their way into the system.

CoroWare has pioneered a time-saving approach. The company uses Windows XP Embedded as well as whatever accessories are needed for the particular job, resulting in what the company affectionately calls a "laptop on wheels."

"We stress using off-the shelf platforms where they exist and where they're the best available technology for the job," Spencer says. "This way, the customer gets the best of available scenarios: off-the-shelf components to keep costs down and custom development to fine-tune the end result."

The first benefit is rapid development time. By using an operating system that has already been subjected to extensive testing and which already has mature development tools, CoroWare is able to focus on integrating the system and putting it to work.

The time savings is dramatic. Where as the former process can take several months or even years, CoroWare was able to develop prototype software for one new robot in just two weeks and develop a functioning prototype in just two months.

"By choosing Windows XP Embedded, we knew the testing had been addressed by the Windows community," says David Hyams, CoroWare Chief Technology Officer. "That meant we could focus more on the features of the product, instead of just getting it to the point where it would work. This really accelerated our development time."

It's not just the testing process that goes by quickly. Development is also rapid because of the huge array of off-the-shelf devices that can plug into the basic robot. If you need a security robot, CoroWare can add a camera. If you need a device to monitor environmental conditions in a building, CoroWare will add sensors. Because of the broad support for Windows XP Embedded, it is likely device drivers have already been written.

The rapid development process significantly reduces the cost, allowing businesses and law enforcement agencies to recoup their investment in no time at all. In the case of the hazardous materials robot, when you account for the cost of the protective suit and the decontamination process, lost time waiting for lab results and the labor costs associated with the small army of specialists needed to process the scene, the robot can pay for itself after just one or two incidents.

"Instead of making that large investment in terms of people and time, a mobile robot can go right out into the field and get answers," Spencer says.

Another application benefits companies that store a significant amount of food. While they may have a few temperature sensors placed throughout their warehouses, it's very rare for the temperature throughout the building to be uniform. It may be 40 degrees below zero at the thermometer, but warming up elsewhere.

"Even when a cooling subsystem begins to fail, it is not usually detected because sensors are not evenly distributed throughout the warehouse," Spencer says. "An environmental robot could avoid this problem by autonomously traveling in the warehouse night and day, collecting temperature, humidity and position data."

The robot can also detect problems humans might miss. Enzymes can begin to spoil food even while the temperature is still well below freezing. A mobile robot is thorough and can spot even slight temperature changes that could prompt spoilage.

"You'd never know there was a problem," Spencer says. "The food is not wet. It's still frozen, but that's why they want uniformity."

Detecting such problems early through the use of mobile robots gives businesses advance warning they can use to rescue their inventory. A mobile robot may pay for itself by catching just one refrigeration failure early – preventing a costly loss.

Yet another common application is building security. While the cost savings and greater effectiveness are key benefits of the mobile robots, perhaps an even greater benefit is the extra safety it provides to human employees.

"By using a mobile service robot for security monitoring, you can minimize or eliminate the 'dead zones' that wall mounted cameras frequently miss," Spencer says. "Mobile surveillance robots can detect anomalies and send a page or text message to a central security console. Video capabilities can actually enable security staff to see the anomaly and assess its risk before sending guards into an unknown and potentially dangerous situation."

And CoroWare's customers are finding they can have results in weeks – not years. CoroWare is able to prototype a new robot in little more than a weekend and deliver it in under a month.

"To really be able to get it right in this industry, you have to be able to rapidly prototype, test, make changes and deploy the system," Spencer says. "With Windows XP Embedded we can do it at least twice as fast."


'http://www.coroware.com/pluspack.aspx Dec. 7 2007