ABB has acquired Swiss start-up Sevensense, a leading provider of AI-enabled 3D vision navigation technology for autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). Sevensense was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from Swiss technical University, ETH Zurich. The acquisition follows ABB’s minority investment in Sevensense after it joined the company’s innovation ecosystem in 2021.
Following pilot customer projects in the automotive and logistics industries, ABB will integrate Sevensense’s technology into the company’s AMR portfolio. Sevensense’s pioneering navigation technology combines AI and 3D vision, enabling autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to navigate in highly complex, dynamic environments alongside people.
Today, this AI-enabled navigation technology is already transforming the automotive manufacturing and logistics sectors, delivering value through faster and more efficient operations. For automotive manufacturer Ford, Visual SLAM enabled ABB AMR’s will create efficiency gains in production sites in the US, while Michelin will use the technology in intralogistics at its factory in Spain. Other automotive manufacturers will roll out the technology in the UK, Finland and Germany.
“Offering more autonomy and cognitive intelligence, ABB’s unique market-proven technology paves the way for a shift from linear production lines to dynamic networks. Intelligent AMRs autonomously navigate to production cells, tracking stock inventory as they go and sharing this information with other robots, while collaborating safely side-by-side with humans,” said Marc Segura, President of ABB’s Robotics Division. “With the acquisition of Sevensense, ABB becomes the leader in next-generation AMRs, offering Visual SLAM in Autonomous Mobile Robots, together with an integrated portfolio covering robots and machine automation solutions, all managed by our value-creating software.”
Gregory Hitz, CEO of Sevensense, said: “This is a significant moment in our shared journey, as we introduce our home-grown technology to a wider range of markets and sectors. ABB is the ideal home for us to continue scaling our versatile platform for 3D visual autonomy, serving OEMs across the automated material handling and service robotics industries. Together, we will redefine the limits of AI-enabled robotics.”
This revolutionary technology has the potential to impact robotics far beyond AMRs, leading to greater efficiency, flexibility and accuracy throughout production and intralogistics. The technology will also continue to be sold across segments including material handling, cleaning and other service robotics fields under the product name Sevensense.
(Press release / SK)
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