Vention, the provider of a software and hardware automation platform, will debut its AI-driven bin-picking technology at Nvidia GTC, an artificial intelligence (AI) conference for developers, held recently in San Jose, California, in the US.
This new AI-driven process eliminates complex and expensive custom solutions that require programming – simplifying adoption of this in-demand automation solution. Vention is slated to commercialize its AI-driven bin-picking technology later this year.
During a live demonstration, an ABB GoFa CRB 15000 robot – equipped with vision, finger grippers, and connected to a Vention MachineMotion AI controller – will demonstrate its autonomous capabilities.
Using only an uploaded CAD file of the part being processed, the robot understands how to detect, select, pick and organize the part with industry-leading speed and precision. This level of autonomy is possible through the powerful foundation models.
Etienne Lacroix, founder and CEO of Vention, says: “AI is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and it’s helping Vention make automation even more accessible to businesses of all sizes.
“Our latest innovation, developed by integrating hardware and AI models from Nvidia, pushes autonomous bin picking beyond simple identification and retrieval – it adds intelligence and organization that reduces the need for expensive integration and programming time.
“This will ultimately make bin-picking automation more affordable to manufacturers.”
Deepu Talla, VP of robotics at Nvidia, says: “Generative AI and simulation technologies have reached a tipping point to accelerate physical AI deployments across manufacturing.
“Using Nvidia Isaac Robotics platform, Vention is bringing the latest advances in AI to factories of all sizes, addressing both high-mix and high-volume manufacturing.”
Using AI to solve real-world challenges
The demonstration is part of an ongoing development project with McAlpine & Co, a Vention customer and a leading UK plumbing manufacturer with over a century of expertise, which has been seeking a bin-picking and machine-loading automation solution.
John Gordon, McAlpine general manager, says adopting automation for bin-picking has been a challenge for the company, despite being a seemingly simple task.
“McAlpine & Co. Ltd has been seeking an automation partner we can trust to deliver our vision of using innovative solutions that align with our rigorous quality management standards.
“At the core of this vision is a collaborative environment where machines take on labour-intensive and highly repetitive tasks, enabling our people to focus on value-added activities.
“Having successfully worked with Vention on our initial automation project, we believe now is the right time to develop a state-of-the-art AI-powered bin-picking solution together.”
Vention Intelligence delivers value faster
Vention’s MachineMotion AI controller, accelerated by Nvidia Jetson Orin module-on-compute platform is the backbone of this breakthrough – delivering the real-time processing needed for autonomous bin picking at scale.
This next-generation control system goes beyond traditional PLC-based automation’s deployment times and capabilities.
By integrating state-of-the-art AI Nvidia Isaac CUDA-accelerated libraries and models such as FoundationPose, Vention ensures manufacturers benefit from proven AI advancements that are quickly entering the marketplace.
Francois Giguere, chief technology officer at Vention, says: “Our integration-first intelligence strategy ensures that as new AI models emerge, we can rapidly incorporate them into our turnkey and customizable work cells – keeping our valued manufacturing customers at the forefront.”
