Modular Robot Path Planner: Inovo Robotics

Inovo Robotics

Inovo Robotics are an innovative UK and Hong Kong-based robot manufacturer. Their flagship device is a modular, collaborative robot arm which can be reconfigured in seconds to change the reach and separation of joints. This is phenomenally useful in SME manufacturing where the robot might be required to undertake one task today and another with very different requirements tomorrow. With a single kit the Inovo Robotics modular robot can vary its reach between 650mm and 1300mm, and payload between 3kg and 10kg.

An Embedded Path Planner for Modular Robotic Arms

With this versatility, however, comes complexity. When the length of certain segments of the robot change, the motion required to get a tool to the same location also changes. HAL Robotics were, therefore, required to design and implement a path planner which could adapt to these reconfigurations and run internally to the Inovo Robotics controller. Our experience dealing with many robots with different morphologies and axis configurations meant that this was very much within our capabilities and the project completed successfully. Some of the features we developed for Inovo Robotics are now included within the HAL Robotics software, including support to program their robots for complex or variable tasks using our parametric approach.

HAL Robotics software for custom machines and robot designers

Our software is vendor-independent and adaptable to various kinematic configurations. Whether it’s snake robots or palletizing robots on gantry systems, our robust path planner and kinematics solving tools empower custom machine integrators and robot designers, freeing them to concentrate on mechanical design.

To learn more about our software modules for kinematic solving and path planning, please feel free to contact us.