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AWS Helps Devs Make Different Robot Types Work Together
Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced a new product on Monday that aims to make it easier for robotics developers to manage different robot types as a single, unified fleet.
AWS IoT RoboRunner was released as a preview as part of the 2021 AWS re:Invent conference, taking place this week.
RoboRunner is a follow-up, of sorts, to AWS RoboMaker, introduced in 2018, which is a cloud-based development platform for robot testing, simulation and deployment. The new RoboRunner product announced this week -- which is based on technology that Amazon.com already uses internally in its fulfillment centers -- is more focused on enabling different types of robots to work together while letting developers bypass the normally time-consuming integration process.
Specifically, it's "a new robotics service that makes it easier for enterprises to build and deploy applications that help fleets of robots work seamlessly together," explained Channy Yun, principal developer advocate at AWS, in a blog post. "AWS IoT RoboRunner lets you connect your robots and work management systems, thereby enabling you to orchestrate work across your operation through a single system view."
RoboRunner promises to connect robots so they can collaborate together, even if they're from different vendors. Developers can integrate different robot types with their work management system via a common application architecture.
With RoboRunner, it's easier for robotics developers to build collaboration, task-orchestration and shared-space management applications, according to AWS. They can also manage their entire fleet, including making real-time adjustments, from a single view.
The RoboRunner preview is currently available in the U.S. East and Europe regions. More information is available here.