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Robotics Business Review

SICK LiDAR-LOC Enables Contour-Based Navigation on Mobile Robotics Platforms

Organization: SICK
Country: U.S.
Website: www.sick.com
Year Founded: 1946
Number of Employees: 500+
Innovation Class: Technology, Services & Research Innovation
Innovation Subclass: Product Introduction

SICK LiDAR-LOC eliminates the necessity of installing and maintaining fixed, physical localization markers for mobile robot navigation.

Description:
In September 2020, SICK released SICK LiDAR-LOC (Localization On Contour), a software solution through which companies can implement contour-based localization – and hence navigation - on any automated guided vehicle, cart, forklift or service robot equipped with SICK’s LMS, TiM and NAV 2D LiDAR sensors, along with SICK safety scanners, such as the microScan3.

Analysis:
The tenants of Industry 4.0 emphasize flexibility, but in many cases companies with deployed mobile robots use reflectors, tracks, magnetic strips or other fixed, inflexible fiducials as localization references for navigation. SICK is a market-leading sensor provider, and as a result many of these same mobile systems are using SICK 2D LiDAR sensors or safety scanners.

With SICK LiDAR-LOC software running on a SICK Sensor Integration Machine, these systems can be retrofitted to support flexible, contour-based navigation using data pulled from the existing sensors. The navigation paths of these systems can be altered as needs dictate without the cost and delay of installing new fixed, physical localization markers. – Dan Kara

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