As more mobile robots enter public spaces, they need easy-to-use management tools. Brain Corp. today announced the launch of new user-experience design and reporting capabilities that it said will make it easier to use and scale fleets of mobile robots with BrainOS.

San Diego-based Brain Corp provides artificial intelligence software for autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).  Global manufacturing partners use the BrainOS platform and its cloud-connected autonomy service to build, deploy, and support commercial robots at scale across industries and applications. Brain Corp raised $36 million in Series D funding in April.

The company added that BrainOS enables end customers to automate repetitive, labor-intensive tasks related to floor care, in-store inventory delivery, and shelf-scanning, freeing employees’ time to focus on higher-value responsibilities. Brain Corp said its robots are deployed within retail and grocery stores, shopping malls, airports, hospitals, warehouses, and other locations.

BrainOS adds usability features

The company said its software enhancements are designed to optimize usage of BrainOS-powered robots for users ranging from robot operators to management personnel around the world. They also include new features for BrainOS-enabled robotic scrubbers.

The new software release includes the following features, said Brain Corp:

• Universal design and iconography: A new “glanceable” user interface (UI) featuring international symbols is intended to help robot operators understand what to do almost immediately, regardless of language.
• Route-cleaning upgrades: New features for BrainOS-powered robotic scrubbers give robot operators flexibility in cleaning their commercial locations, said the company. “Multiple consecutive routes” allows for up to six different routes to be scheduled and executed. “Route repeat” allows for a continuous loop of one or more routes to clean problem areas.
• Unified reporting across applications: Brain Corp claimed that the ability for executives to get performance metrics of multiple BrainOS-powered robotics applications via a single interface is an industry first. Users can toggle back and forth between robotic applications to see core usage metrics so they can quickly understand the overall impact of their robotics program on their operations, it said.
• Report internationalization: BrainOS reporting interfaces now come in a dozen different languages, with more on the way, to help global businesses better manage their robotic fleets in multiple countries. This internationalization includes product-specific languages, as well as time formats and units of measurement.
• Reporting at scale: Thanks to a new centralized data warehouse and a high-performance reporting infrastructure, users of BrainOS robots can now look at activity reports and autonomous usage metrics for one robot in one store or thousands of robots across the globe within seconds. This enables executives to understand usage and compliance of their operations in near real-time.

“Our goal is to make BrainOS-powered robots dead simple to use for any global audience and to help end customers better collect and leverage robotic data so they deliver better customer experiences,” said Jon Thomason, chief technology officer of Brain Corp. “This new release extends the value of our platform and sets the bar for what users should expect from their investment in autonomous robots.”

Schnucks expands mobile robot deployment

Brain Corp’s innovation in user-experience (UX) design and operational reporting, along with the proven performance and scale of Tennant Co. floor care equipment, were the key reasons that Schnuck Markets Inc. recently selected new Tennant T380AMR robotic scrubbers.

Schnucks, a leading Midwest grocery chain, will have autonomous units powered by BrainOS in more than half its stores when deployments are completed by the end of the year. It recently announced that it will expand deployments of Simbe Robotics Inc.’s Tally AMRs for inventory.

“These new robotic scrubbers will enhance cleaning performance, while giving valuable time back to teammates so they can spend more time doing what is most important: serving our customers,” stated Kim Anderson, senior director of store operations support at Schnucks. “Robotics and technology are important tools for helping us improve in-store experiences and achieve our customer-first values.”

Through its global manufacturing partners, Brain Corp currently operates more than 14,000 AMRs worldwide, which it said is the largest fleet of its kind operating in high-traffic indoor locations. The company’s robotic applications include floor scrubbers, vacuums, delivery tugs, and a new shelf-analytics application that is currently being piloted in major retail locations.

On Monday, Oct. 19, Brain Corp will host a webinar with Schnucks executives and ABI Research that will be hosted by Winsight Grocery Business.