Project charter
Botshare – sharing robotics
Date: 30.01.2023
Idea: Simplify autonomous mobile robotics adoption for SME with AI-based RaaS and cognitive robots.
Foreword
“In simple words, what we do:
We make mobile robotics automation more accessible for SME.
How we do it:
1. Simplifying the implementation and maintenance of automation using a special AI-based cloud service and cognitive robots;
2. Lowering the entry barrier using the RaaS model.
What niche do we start with:
Mobile robots for Goods to Person logistics in warehouses and manufacturing SMEs.
What drives the demand for our solution:
1. Labor shortening and increased demand for automation of simple warehouse or manufacturing processes;
2. Lack of qualified specialists who can implement automation solutions and provide maintenance;
3. Reduced risk when buying robots through RaaS.
How do we know about the problem:
1. Own experience in the autonomous mobile robot market, early customers;
2. Conclusions from the conducted customer interviews;
3. Conclusions of the overwhelming majority of market research reports.”
Executive Summary
Global competition is at an all-time high, the energy crisis, rising wages and labor shortages are driving margins down, and only companies that can adapt quickly and innovate in business practices are able to win this race. These problems arise along the entire supply chain from the logistics of raw materials, production to the logistics of finished products and sales.
Meanwhile, automation technology is becoming more accessible, reliable and flexible than ever. The benefits of automation and the use of flexible robotic systems have come to the fore, especially during the COVID-19 restrictions when most countries were encouraging people to work from home or have even introduced total lockdowns.
In these unprecedented circumstances, industry leaders have had to find new ways to do business. Autonomous robots have become an effective solution to the labor shortage problem.
Finding temporary workers is not an easy task, and RaaS offers a practical solution. Rent AMR during times of high demand without CAPex and only pay for effective robot uptime, only when robots are busy. Remote implementation and maintenance, 24/7 remote automated monitoring of robot status, reducing costs and downtime.
Robot as a Service (RaaS), the concept of service-oriented architecture, can achieve the goal of democratizing robotics automation by reducing the cost of entry for users and enabling advanced robotics technologies to be used by businesses of all sizes. Issues of labor and cost management are universal for all enterprises, regardless of their size. With RaaS, companies of all sizes can control costs, achieve fast ROI, respond to growing demand, and optimize their workforce.
To speed up these processes, humans and robots will join forces over the next few decades. Robots are tireless, efficient and reliable, but people are still faster and better at making decisions in non-standard situations. However, one of the advantages of RaaS is the high learning capabilities of the system, decentralized analysis of various cases, followed by centralized training of all robots based on common experience, which will greatly simplify the implementation of robots and introduce predictive maintenance to maximize human exclusion from processes.
Thus, as a conclusion from the above, it can be determined that now the matter is small – to make automation affordable in terms of capital investments (which RaaS solves), implementation speed (remote and assistive AI-based technologies), maintenance and guarantee of results (which is solved using an AI-based cloud solution).
According to the most experts, market research reports and based on our accumulated experience with first clients, these factors are the main factors holding back the adoption of robots.
Project Purpose/Justification
Business Need/Case
AMR helps to minimize useless walks and increase productivity. Labor productivity is critical for manufacturing enterprises, especially now, in an environment of fierce competition and rising cost of resources. Businesses struggle to hire and retain workers in a tough job market, balancing costs and benefits, while adjusting to turbulent times. Unlike a robot, a hired person cannot be fired tomorrow and re-hired when the need arises again.
The easiest way to reduce travel by 30-70% and double productivity in a warehouse, manufacture, restaurant, hotel, clinic or home is to automate travel with autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).
Autonomous movement of products from point A to point B – that’s Botshare’s entire business case for the near future.
Please note that even this simple use case AMR is currently being implemented in a difficult way due to the complexity of human-robot interface, differences in IT and physical infrastructure, high cost of robotics, the need for customization, etc.
Small and medium-sized businesses need to quickly, at minimal cost, without complex integration processes, implement automation and increase their competitiveness.
Business Objectives
Our goal is to create a system that makes automation as easy to use and implement as a vacuum cleaner out of the box, using a clear, simple user interface, the cognitive capabilities of the system and the robot itself.
Botshare aims to make it easier, faster and cheaper to implement autonomous mobile robotic solutions for automating simple logistics processes for small and medium-sized warehouse and manufacturing enterprises through the use of an AI-based cloud solution, cognitive robots and a RaaS model.
Through decentralized learning and enhancing the learning effect by training a large number of robots in parallel, we can achieve a high level of cooperation with robots in the near future. Robots adapted to work in Cloud have enhanced cognitive abilities, self-diagnosis and telecontrol capabilities, which allow real-time implementation, monitoring of equipment deterioration, planning maintenance and replacement of parts, diagnosing problems and eliminating possible failures in time, keeping the system in working condition.
Already now we see that the RaaS platforms of the future are not only a marketplace for choosing, ordering and paying for a robot, but also a very important part – the ability to configure the robot’s functions using a simple configuration and low code interface, train it and apply it to a specific case, simplify robotics solution development by providing interfaces and packages as APIs and SDKs for common functions, such as collecting and sharing data, controlling communication, changing states, and robotic cooperation.
Because the RaaS provider takes care of all design and maintenance, companies can deploy automation even if they lack in-house expertise. In addition, rapid deployment results in significant ROI.
One of the promising fields is the interoperability of robots from different manufacturers (VDA5050, MassRobotics), different industries (Robotics Middleware Framework – RMF) and integrating the robots to the entire engineering systems.
A significant advantage of the RaaS model is that RaaS providers are constantly updating and improving their technology, so customers do not have to worry about obsolescence. Customers can keep up with advances in technology without worrying about where they are going or where they need to be.
Importantly, RaaS allows small businesses to enjoy the benefits of automation, flexibility, and scalability, which greatly improves competitiveness, and spurs technological advancement. Without the widespread adoption of RaaS, these benefits would only be available to large enterprises that can afford the cost of ownership.
The service cloud acts as a clearing house to monitor the overall availability of robotic resources, and to schedule, distribute and instruct robots by their tasks and location, and the service provider is responsible for maintaining and ensuring the operational availability and uptime of the robot fleet.
Project description
This project proposes to develop an AI-based B2B cloud solution for renting, implementing, training and configuring autonomous robots.
A distinctive feature of this RaaS solution is the presence of advanced AI-based capabilities, both in the cloud and in the robots, which allows Botshare’s RaaS platform to work directly with the end client, without involving intermediaries, allowing the implementation of robotics in an easier way.
The top five robots as a service segments are delivery robots, cleaning robots, manufacture robots, warehouse robots, and security robots. These are markets where clear cost models exist, such as performance fees, such as delivery fees, or hourly rates for cleaners and security guards.
Unique Benefits of the Botshare Cloud:
– Easy remote automation implementation and maintenance;
– Decentralized data acquisition, сentralised AI-training;
– No capital investments needed.
One of the most interesting and promising fields for the next 15 years is RaaS for non-industrial robots – imagine that in the near future service robotics will be available to each of us in full. No capital investment and long study of the instructions for use – just a couple of clicks on your smartphone and your own service robot will make you a targeted delivery from your favorite bakery, clean around the house, mow the grass on the lawn on Thursdays, accompanying you on a hike with bags, which disinfects the premises before and after the reception of guests, or a humanoid robot that teaches you to waltz every Saturday. All this becomes possible, affordable, inexpensive, and most importantly, robots continue to collectively learn, adapt their behavior and interface to be more collaborative, safe, and develop cognitive abilities.
Botshare’s go to market strategy is that we start with a narrow niche in which we are well versed – this is AMR/AGV for the good to person delivery on warehouses and manufacturing SME, but later we plan to cover all kinds of logistics operations that take place in warehouses and manufacturing SMEs.
The disadvantages of the RaaS model that hinder the development of this area are the huge initial costs for creating a fleet of robots and the risks associated with its maintenance, which are transferred from customers to robotics companies.
Robotics companies looking to launch a RaaS offering need to answer tough questions:
– Capital for the production of a fleet of robots;
– Resources for local presence, maintaining the physical performance of robots;
– Cash flow financing to support operating expenses until RaaS turns into net positive income.
Contact for further cooperation: info@botshare.ai
References:
Subscriptions for robotic help? Yep, that’s a thing – author Alex Reznichenko
