Cohort Systems Inc. has developed and applies a process based on the belief that robotics is applied as a tool to solve a problem. The customer is the expert in understanding the problem. Our process supports the adaptation of a mobile platform to provide a Mobile Robotic System solution to the problem. Our expertise is the intellectual property and knowledge applied to solve the problem. When the solution requires specialist knowledge, we bring in domain experts from academia or industry. Refer to our Research and Development Partners page. For example, this could be the deployment of a special purpose sensor, an actuator, or packaging to meet environmental requirements or extended reliability.
Once a client’s problem is understood, the development of the Mobile Robot takes into consideration requirements for: action, motion, perception, localization, and communication with a base station or communication with another robot. In some cases, consideration is made for additional requirements such as: extended mission length, environment or packaging. An all-purpose universal robot does not exist, nor is there a universal robot control processor or standard suite of sensors and actuators. Instead there is the application of robotic solution to a problem with application of commercial off the shelf hardware and software components.
There are non-robotic solutions to problems. Today, there are technologies, such as, powerful low power processors, high density batteries, standards, and sophisticated off the shelf sensors. We keep current of advancements in technology by way of our Connections with government, academia, and industry. All of these technologies can be used to make a Mobile Robot at a competitive or lower price than a non-robotic solution. These technologies support complex software functionality used to; control a vehicle; fuse data from sensors, define actions to be performed, communicate local and global perception, and communicate control and telemetry information.
The need to develop a custom robot is becoming less important. We focus on high function, non-proprietary components to solutions that result in low cost, reliable and repairable Mobile Robot solutions. Cohort Systems Inc. provides the software components, knowledge and expertise to support this concept of Mobile Robot System development. This does not mean all Mobile Robots will converge. On the contrary, by using and re-using standard platforms and components, Mobile Robots are cost effectively and rapidly integrated to create unique application specific solutions to problems. This concept for building a robot is employed at Cohort Systems Inc.