Kawasaki Robotics partners with Olis Robotics to offer remote monitoring and control of its industrial robots

Olis Robotics, a provider of remote error recovery systems for industrial robots, has agreed a new partnership with Kawasaki Robotics, one of the leading suppliers of industrial robots and automation systems.

The companies aim to offer their customers the ability to “restart production faster, reduce troubleshooting and downtime costs by up to 90 percent, and gain access to expert support quickly”.

Olis users connect directly to their robots through an on-premises device via a secure connection, avoiding the risks and complexities associated with cloud-based systems.

To ensure physical safety, Olis is designed to always obey the robot controller’s safety restrictions.

Kawasaki and Olis Robotics will showcase their partnership at Kawasaki’s booth #C5475 at MODEX 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia, March 11 to 14.

The two companies will be joining forces with CRG Automation, a Louisville, Kentucky-based integration house for MODEX.

The partners will demonstrate a state-of-the-art robotic corner board system, integrated with a mixed palletizing and depalletizing cell, featuring a Kawasaki RS007L robot, that automates placing corner boards on pallets being wrapped, ensuring overall load stability.

The system, which handles multiple SKUs of unstructured products, is equipped with Olis Robotics remote error recovery software that lets attendees experience how the system alerts users when the robot unexpectedly stops, and when picking or placing a part fails.

After a system failure, the attendees can use Olis to run a tool inspection routine and perform remote error recovery, allowing the robot to resume its cycle and get back to work.

Paul Marcovecchio, director GI business unit, Kawasaki Robotics, says: “We’re seeing a growing demand for remote robot monitoring and recovery capabilities; adding Olis to our industrial robots is a game changer for the market.”

Marcovecchio emphasizes how Olis Robotics has taken the time to understand the adaptation barriers.

He says: “Our new partnership supports the industry gamut from smaller first-time end users and their integrator partners up to more complex AI-driven applications in larger plants.

“All stakeholders can now easily and cost-effectively monitor, access and recover their robot cells remotely.

“As a result, they created a powerful tool that also addresses end-user concerns such as cyber security or the need to retrofit machines.”

Fredrik Ryden, CEO at Olis Robotics, highlights how Kawasaki robots are built to “last for decades”, giving end users maximum control of a highly customizable product.

Ryden says: “Kawasaki’s commitment to a world-class buying experience and quick ROI in a wide range of applications is a perfect match for Olis.”

Ryden adds that Kawasaki’s extensive integrator network is another key factor in the new partnership as Olis provides integrators time-saving bandwidth through the remote support capabilities, enabling them to “grow up to 25 percent faster”.

Ryden says: “We’re incredibly excited to start working with Kawasaki integrators to deploy and retro-fit Olis units with Kawasaki robot arms, it’s a win-win for both the integrator and their customers.”

The Olis remote monitoring and error recovery solution will be available for any Kawasaki robot model starting Q2 of 2024.