FORMIC Robot
The German startup Transportsysteme, founded by people from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, has developed a FORMIC robotic cargo platform. Its peculiarity is that it uses the swarm principle to form a transport vehicle of the required load capacity from individual robots. At the same time, robots do not need to be assembled into a single mechanism, they retain autonomy and can quickly switch to new tasks.
Each robot in the FORMIC is a six-wheeled cargo platform with a lifting capacity of up to 2.5 tons. It has video cameras and a radio communication chip for orientation in space and autonomous movement. The robot is equipped with a small jack, it drives up under the load, lifts it and transports it to the specified location.
FORMIC Robot
FORMIC Robot
To move heavy cargo, up to 15 robots can be assembled together, then they will be able to transport 37.5 tons. The robots themselves will determine how to place themselves under the object in order to distribute the load, how to maintain distance and move synchronously. The FORMIC system is controlled by a human operator, but he gives commands to the entire structure, and the order inside the swarm is maintained by the robots themselves. The launch of FORMIC into commercial operation will take place before the end of this year.
Alexander Martynenko