On October 25, 2024, almost our entire team went to the visit at Proud Automation. We met Mark Proud and Eric, the head engineer, who explained their company and their logistics.
During their presentation, they talked about what their business did: when they are faced with a client that has a problem, they apply their different robotics solutions to help solve the problem.
There were many mechanics to automatic the robots at Proud Automation:
- The Robots used by Proud Automation has vision systems which use LiDAR technology. This helps their Autonomous Mobile Robots(AMR) to stop if it detects something in front of it. The AMR has a map of the workshop so it can maneuver.
- They also have a suction system for the claws of the robots. These “grippers” can detect pressure, which helps the robot do works with extra sensors and control.
They showed us their COBOT’s and AMR robot(as well as the AMR Robot Map), which are the different type of robots that can work and maneuver in their workshop, which is a huge workshop.
Then, our team had the opportunity to explain the FTC Game to the company, and we showed them our designs for the intake and claw. They gave us some suggestions about our designs and our work ethic.
Their Suggestions:
Some suggestions the company gave us was to make sure that our intake would not hold more than 1 specimen. They also suggested that we do our work quickly in order to give more time for iterations.