ABB acquires Sevensense, expanding leadership in next-generation AI-enabled mobile robotics

Sevensense acquisition comes three years after initial investment from ABB

ABB

ABB acquired Swiss-based Sevensense.

ABB acquired Sevensense, a provider of AI-enabled 3D vision navigation technology for autonomous mobile robots.

By Robotics 24/7 Staff

· January 11, 2024

ABB announced that it has acquired Swiss start-up Sevensense, a 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.

“This marks a significant step towards our vision of a workplace where AI-enabled robots assist people, addressing our customers' needs for greater flexibility and intelligence amidst critical skilled labor shortages,” said Sami Atiya, President of ABB Robotics and Discrete Automation. “Each mobile robot, equipped with vision and AI, scans a unique part of the building; collectively these robots complement each other’s view to form a complete map, enabling them to work autonomously in a rapidly changing environment.”

The acquisition follows ABB’s minority investment in Sevensense after it joined the company’s innovation ecosystem in 2021, the same year ABB acquired ASTI Mobile Robotics. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Following pilot customer projects in the automotive and logistics industries, ABB will integrate Sevensense’s technology into the company’s AMR portfolio, offering an unprecedented combination of speed, accuracy, and payload.

The market for mobile robots is expected to grow at 20 percent CAGR through 2026, from $5.5bn to $9.5bn and ABB’s AI-powered 3D vision technology is at the forefront of this growth.

AI and 3D in AMRs

Sevensense’s navigation technology combines AI and 3D vision, enabling AMRs to make intelligent decisions, differentiating between fixed and mobile objects in dynamic environments. Once manually guided, mobile robots with visual simultaneous localization and mapping (visual SLAM) technology create a map that is used to operate independently, reducing commissioning time from weeks to days and enabling the AMRs to navigate in highly complex, dynamic environments alongside people. Maps are constantly updated and shared across the fleet, offering instant scalability without interrupting operations and greater flexibility compared to other navigation technologies.

“This is a significant moment in our shared journey, as we introduce our home-grown technology to a wider range of markets and sectors,” said Gregory Hitz, CEO of Sevensense. “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.”

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.

“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.” said Marc Segura, President of ABB’s Robotics Division.

This technology has the potential to impact robotics far beyond AMRs, leading to greater efficiency, flexibility and accuracy throughout production and intralogistics, according to ABB. The technology will also continue to be sold across segments including material handling, cleaning and other service robotics fields under the product name Sevensense.

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