The Swiss industrial robotics vendor ABB Ltd. is continuous to develop its footprint as a supplier of cell robotic options, announcing today that it has acquired Sevensense, a Swiss start-up that gives AI-based navigation expertise.

Founded in 2018 as a spin-off from the Swiss technical college ETH Zurich, Sevensense says its platform can transform any mobile machine, from AMRs to forklifts and cleansing machines, into cell robots with unprecedented autonomy capabilities.

Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed. But the acquisition follows ABB’s minority funding in Sevensense after it joined the corporate’s innovation ecosystem in 2021, the same year ABB acquired ASTI Mobile Robotics, a Spanish supplier of autonomous towing autos, goods-to-person options, unit carriers, and field movers.

Following pilot buyer initiatives within the automotive and logistics industries, ABB says it’s going to combine Sevensense’s expertise into the corporate’s AMR portfolio, providing a brand new mixture of pace, accuracy, and payload. Sevensense’s roughly 35 workers will proceed to be primarily based at its Swiss workplace in Zurich.

To date, ABB has centered on rolling out its cell expertise within the automotive manufacturing and logistics sectors, with installations at Ford manufacturing websites within the U.S., a Michelin manufacturing unit in Spain, and different automotive producers planning to launch ABB expertise within the U.Ok., Finland, and Germany.

“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,” Sami Atiya, President of ABB Robotics and Discrete Automation, mentioned in a launch. “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.”