Alexandra Boblov is the newest addition to the software team. She is a UX/UI designer working on the front-end development of arculus software. Her role is to ensure the overall user experience on the software is accessible, enjoyable and usable. This article is about her experience with us as a working student.
Hi Alexandra. Please tell us a little bit about yourself!
Alexandra: “I am currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual and Communication Design at the Hochschule Pforzheim. It is similar to graphic design but in a wider context. It includes, for example, UI/UX, which is what I do here at arculus."
Alexandra working on one of her designs
What did you think of our onboarding process?
Alexandra: “The onboarding process allowed me to learn about the company processes much faster. It also introduced me to everyone at arculus who offered their support, even if we were in different teams. Altogether, it truly helped me settle down faster.”
And how is the work-study life balance at arculus for you?
Alexandra: “I have a fixed schedule for work and studies, which I set with my manager when I started at the job. So I work at arculus on Mondays and Fridays and keep the remaining three days only for university. It gives me enough time to focus on my studies without compromising my work quality. I feel this works well for me.”
So how would you describe your experience so far in your team?
Alexandra: “It is good so far. All of my team members work from different cities. Therefore, we have an online team meeting every morning. I like to hear and know what others are doing. I believe it boosts our team spirit and keeps us connected.”
What makes your work experience at arculus different from your previous student jobs/internships?
Alexandra: “Compared to the agency I was working for before, I find arculus more structured. Everyone is approachable and willing to help. What I love the most about arculus is the company channels for extracurricular activities. Recently, the team planned a hiking trip to Zugspitze. I couldn’t participate, unfortunately, but the pictures were so cool. I will definitely try to join the next one.”
Sounds cool! And how do you believe your work at arculus contributes to your learning process?
Alexandra: “Usually, at the university, we only learn concepts and theories. However, without practical experience, it has no value. My responsibilities at arculus are training me to become more effective, fast, and precise at UI/UX.”
And what is the most important thing you’ve learned so far?
Alexandra: “Every day at arculus is a new learning experience. If I have to pick the most important one, it is creating clean designs. With private or academic projects, the designs tend to be more cluttered or not primarily focused on customer needs.”
Alexandra at the arculus summer party in June
Last but not least, do you have any recommendations for future applicants who want to apply for a job at arculus?
Alexandra: “Believe in yourself. I was quite nervous when I applied for this student job. I thought I wouldn’t hear back from arculus due to the number of applicants for this position. But here I am! So go for it.”
Looking for a student job? We are hiring! Apply here.
When looking at a robot performing the tasks it was designed to do, it’s easy to overlook the meticulous electronic work that goes into it. For the arculee, the very core of this delicate craftsmanship is in its Robot Control Unit (RCU®). In this blog post, the engineer – or electronic artisan – Tobias Schwering takes you through his challenging journey of designing custom inverters. From theoretical investigations to the perfect Infineon Chips: this is an arculus electronics store.
How it started
When I started working at arculus as an electronics hardware engineer, one of my very first tasks was to revise our triple motor inverter, one of the key parts of our Robot Control Unit (RCU®). This is the very heart of our electronics system and the interface to the “muscles” of the arculee, the three permanent magnet synchronous motors we use for driving and lifting loads. It was a hugely interesting but pretty challenging task, especially given that I only had previous experience with simpler power electronics – even the strongest components I had ever designed had roughly only 10% of the power of one of our inverters.
A closer view of our RCU®, which features Infineon chips in its structure
At this time, the concept of the RCU as a single Printed Circuit Board (PCB) system, including nearly all the non-safety-relevant functions of our robot, was already laid out, and arculus was fully committed to developing its own power electronics. We even had the first few samples designed and produced by an external contractor – the only problem being that they didn’t work. These inverters delivered only a fraction of the necessary power and regularly died without warning. Furthermore, the team had no real consensus on why this was the case. So the first step had to be a thorough investigation into inverter theory to identify the weak spots of the design at that point.
One of the first findings was that the Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFETs) used so far in the power stages were not up to the job. Thus, we had to find a better-fitting replacement that could take the envisioned 40A from the 48V battery without overheating. One important feature is to reduce the amount of heat that is generated. For this, it is crucial to have both low resistance when the MOSFET is conducting, and swift, clean transitions between the switched-on and off states. Fortunately, after careful research, we could finally find enough parts to fulfil these requirements.
Keeping it cool
The other part of keeping the RCU® cool is transporting whatever heat is generated away from the chips – which turned out to be even more challenging. The first idea was to put the MOSFET’s plastic housing thermally into contact with our massive aluminium housing. But the plastic itself conducts the heat so poorly that even if the surface is cool, the chip inside can still massively overheat.
The thermal conductivity to the solder contact at the bottom of the chip is roughly 40 times better, but here our one-board construction containing both logic and power electronics posed yet another challenge. The high-speed interfaces and tight packaging in the logic part of the board demanded using only very thin 35µm copper layers in the board itself, as the small structures cannot be etched into thicker copper. But such a thin copper layer is not enough to conduct the heat of the MOSFETs away. Simply increasing the size of the Field-Effect Transistors (FETs) and thus increasing the contact area for more heat transfer was also not an option, as there was not enough space left. So I came to a dead end with the standard packages for MOSFETs.
At work with the RCU
Luckily, I then found the solution to the problem in the shape of the Infineon SuperCool MOSFET packages. These feature a cooling pad on top, which is thermally as well connected to the chip as the bottom pad used for the solder connections. By contacting these to our aluminium housing with thermally conducting material, I could remove the heat without routing it through the PCB, which is not built for the task. And I did not have to compromise on any electrical characteristics, as the chip itself is one of the OptiMOS 5 family that offers excellent performance parameters.
In this way, I was able to pave the way for our custom inverters' design, although many additional design tricks and cutting-edge parts were necessary to bring its performance to the point where it is today. Nonetheless, it was less than nine months from the moment I joined until the redesigned inverter ran tests at 100A – 2.5 times the current of its original design goal. That demonstrated an awesome team effort and showed that quality engineering does not have to take ages if the company structure allows it!
A perfect fit: that's how Megi describes her experience as a Robotics Engineer at arculus. Learn more about how she was impressed with arculus full robotics solution — from mechanics to software and even the fleet manager.
Hey Megi, welcome! Can you start by telling us what made you want to work at arculus as a Robotics Engineer?
I really like manufacturing, automation, and, especially, I'm interested in robotics. So when I discovered arculus, it was actually a perfect match. What I also find really exciting about the company is the scope of our product, because we do a complete development of the mobile robots — mechanics, electronics, software, functions, and even the fleet manager. That truly impressed me, and so I wanted to become a part of it.
And what does a typical working day look like for you?
My morning starts with the daily. It is a brief meeting where the whole team gets together, and we reflect on what each of us did the day before. And then we talk about the plans for the day. After that, I continue working on my tasks. On average, it takes me three days to complete each task, which is usually implementing a new feature. That means reading code and writing code, as well as testing in a simulation. We are now very lucky that we have this test area directly in the office, so I am also constantly running some tests with the real robot driving around the space.
Megi working in our in-house robot test area
How would you describe the arculus culture?
For me, the arculus culture is for sure about commitment. I really appreciate the feeling that we all share the same goal: making really great robots, and we all work towards that goal as a team. With that also comes the transparency and openness, which I truly like. It makes me feel responsible for the work I do and gives me the certainty that others appreciate and recognize my effort.
What has arculus taught you so far?
That would be a very, very long answer (laughs). I've been learning every day from my teammates, who are really great. But apart from the technical things, I find fascinating what our team leads and management are doing. I'm slowly understanding how challenging it is to make this whole thing happen, and I think that they all do a really good job.
Kerstin is a fresh addition to the arculus family. Despite being a working student, she has not once sweated about sharing the responsibilities of our People Operations Partner. She supports the lifecycle of the employees and enriches their journey at arculus. This article highlights Kerstin’s experience in our People Team.
Kerstin, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Kerstin: “Sure! In the beginning I was unsure about my career path. Therefore, I constantly switched between different fields. For example, I opted for Biology after my high school graduation, but I dropped out of the program a year later because I didn't find it a fit for me. I then started an apprenticeship at a company, for which I had to complete a Handelsfachwirt (Bachelor of Trade and Commerce). However, during my training period, I developed an interest in management topics, and this is what encouraged me to apply for the Bachelor in Business Management, which I’m currently studying.”
How do you recall your on-boarding experience?
Kerstin: “It was hard for me initially because back then I was living in Nürnberg and working remotely from there. I could only visit the Munich office once. Moreover, my supervisor’s onboarding process also started around the same time, so we both were new and still adapting. Nonetheless, during this period, my colleagues welcomed me very warmly. They became my support system in every possible way.”
How is the work-study life balance at arculus?
Kerstin: “I’m currently on a semester break, so I haven’t experienced the work-study life at arculus yet. However, I can speak about my work-life balance here. I usually pre-plan the coming week on a Friday with my reporting manager. I have the flexibility to set my work timings or meetings depending on my availability on a certain day or time. Hence, I strongly feel that once my studies resume, it will not be a challenge to manage work and university together.”
And, how would you describe your experience so far in your team?
Kerstin: “We are a small but well-connected team. We work closely together despite being in different cities. We have daily online meetings to discuss work-related topics. Personally, I find my manager cool as she never hesitates to appreciate me and my work. She trusts my capabilities, and has already assigned me responsibilities that add more value to my work experience. She also gives me enough time and space to get comfortable with the tasks before I proceed towards executing them.”
It’s interesting when you say your responsibilities make your experience valuable. What makes your work at arculus different from your previous student jobs/internships?
Kerstin: “The environment at arculus is very different, in a good way. I like how even the smallest initiative never goes unappreciated here. Also, irrespective of the position, everyone in the company is supportive!”
Kerstin at the arculus' summer party
Since this is your first job in HR, how do you believe your work at arculus contributes to your learning process?
Kerstin: “Since day one, I have learned a lot from this job. For example, I already have some knowledge about contracts, which I didn’t think I would be learning so soon. There’s always something new to learn. Certainly, this experience is contributing a lot to my learning process.”
So what would you say is the most important thing you’ve learned so far?
Kerstin: “I have learned that communication and organization are significant elements of a strong team. When I joined, my department was going through a restructuring, and some more employees joined us to assist with the transition. It was tough, but we managed it quite well. Now, we finally have a flow within the team. So, from experience, I believe these two factors are needed every day and everywhere.”
Lastly, do you have any recommendations for future applicants who want to apply for a job at arculus?
Kerstin: “Take your time. Also, the application process is worth it. I’ll admit that it’s a bit longer and uncommon for the students. But it allowed me to show my motivation, skills, and talent to the hiring manager before joining the company. So even if the process looks scary, don’t give up!”
We may also have an open position that best suits your interests. Apply here!
Uzair has been a working student at arculus for almost a year. He is in the Project Execution team, responsible for change management, running simulations for new software, as well as writing scripts and documentation.He is an Intralogistics 4.0 enthusiast and a quick learner. Find more about Uzair and his journey at arculus in this article.
Hi Uzair! Please tell us a bit about yourself.
Uzair: “I am from India. After completing my Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering, I worked for a year in the production department of an automotive company. In 2020, I decided to pursue a Master’s degree relevant to my work experience and chose the Management and Engineering In Computer-Aided Mechanical Engineering program at RWTH Aachen. I know that is a very long name for a program (laughs), but it fits well with my role at arculus.”
How do you recall our onboarding process?
Uzair: “It was smooth for me. Even though Germany was in lockdown last year, I still received my laptop, gear, and tools via mail on time. I also did some mandatory short courses that are relevant to my job. My manager also offered constant support. He patiently answered my questions about production and software development and guided me well throughout the process."
So, how do you find the work-study balance at arculus?
Uzair: “Work-study balance is quite good at arculus. My colleagues have told me several times that I should always put my studies first. For me, attending meetings is voluntary. If I do not have time for a task due to a busy university routine, I can skip it or do it later, which helps in being flexible. I appreciate the constant reminder that, as a working student, I can’t give it all.
Even though I need to attend classes on campus, I am still allowed to work remotely. As I live in Aachen, this has made my daily schedule much less stressful. But when I see my colleagues at the office, I do feel like I am missing out on all the fun.”
Uzair doing his daily tasks
Is this your first student job in Germany?
Uzair: “Yes!”
Cool! So how do you believe your work experience at arculus differs from the ones in your home country?
Uzair: “This is my first ever remote work experience. Although working from the office has its perks, the flexibility to work from anywhere saves me commuting time. I can even work from the university library.
Also, the work coordination at arculus is applaudable. Back in India, I would have 50-60 calls a day. But, at arculus, I learned that instead of making 20 calls individually, we can hold short key meetings with selected individuals and resolve the problem.”
How do you feel that your work at arculus contributes to your learning process?
Uzair: “My Master’s program also covers management courses. Therefore, several subjects coincide with my job. For example, I had this course called “Factory Planning'' last semester. It was about project execution, and I could practically see it happening at arculus during the delivery, installation, and tests for our arculee. So I think my tasks not only add value to my work experience but also help me perform better at my studies.”
And do you believe your responsibilities prepare you well for a full-time role?
Uzair: “Yes. I see myself doing a full-time job in project execution or something similar in Intralogistics 4.0, and my current responsibilities at arculus are preparing me well for it. Like I now know how a detailed Gantt chart (a project management tool) should look like!”
An Illustration of a Gantt chart
What is the most important thing that you have learned at arculus?
Uzair: “Time management and how important deadlines are. Also, not to mix personal, school, and work life. They have to be separate.”
Lastly, do you have any tips for working students who want to apply to arculus?
Uzair: “It is crucially important to have an interdisciplinary mindset so that it becomes easier to handle various aspects of the job.”
Interdisciplinary is an interesting term that you have used. Can you tell us more about it?
Uzair: “For example, a project manager’s job is not about just supervising the project. They have to manage finances, understand customer requirements, communicate with the customers, or handle sensitive data. Hence, a basic knowledge of business processes and strategies is equally important as an in-depth understanding of mechanical engineering.”
We are a tech-driven company actively looking for working students. Apply here!
This is the story of Iuri, Software Engineer at arculus since 2018. Learn more about his journey and role in developing the arculee.
Hey Iuri, great to have you here! Can you start by letting us know what your job at arculus is?
My job at arculus is Software Developer but I do more than that. My tasks range from planning projects according to the priorities for our goals to testing things and hands-on work directly on the robot. So arculus offers me the possibility to grow or develop myself while also contributing to the company goals as well as I can.
Iuri and a colleague working on the arculee
When did you join arculus? How has the company changed since then?
I joined arculus in February 2018. Back then we were under 20 employees. Now we have over 90. The biggest changes are in the way we work and the number of processes we now have. The way we handle tasks within the team went from individual little worlds where people could do whatever they want to now, where we have several cross-functional teams, and everybody works within the scrum environment and can collaborate on all the tasks. We also have better knowledge sharing, and everybody has a more comfortable working environment. So definitely a lot has changed.
What is the most exciting thing you've experienced since you joined?
My journey at arculus is full of exciting moments. When I joined as an intern, I got to work on my own project that later got delivered to the client side. So there was me, still at the end of my graduation, being part of the whole specification for our latest generation of robots. On the electronics side, it was just another colleague and me, so I'm proud to see that I had a very big role in the development of our product. So the outstanding responsibility I had as an intern and all the knowledge I acquired since then, excite me quite a lot.
Iuri at work
How would you describe our products to a non-tech person?
We do pretty cool robots that transport stuff around (laughs). So just put anything on top of it, and it will transport it wherever you want it to go. We also do all the infrastructure that goes along with it, which is a lot of stuff.
Who would you recommend to join the team?
Anyone who is not satisfied with almost done, who is not content with less than 100 per cent. Someone who goes above and beyond to deliver just the best they can, who's not afraid of challenges or going the extra mile, and who does all of that with passion. Anyone who constantly wants to improve themselves, their work, and their results. Someone who goes above and beyond for what they believe, and anyone who wants to make a difference and actually does it. That's the profile we need. And that's the best fit I can describe for the team.
Think you fit Iuri's description? We are hiring! Apply here
In the past decade, businesses have focused firmly on logistics automation – mostly looking to improve efficiency. But while robots and other high-tech machinery have become the norm, another of their benefits has gone almost unnoticed - the decreased environmental impact. Here we show how our automated solutions can help businesses achieve sustainable, eco-friendly decarbonisation.
The warehouses’ polluting role
When it comes to decarbonisation efforts, businesses usually put their focus on sustainable manufacturing/production, transportation, and recycling. But the impact within warehousing is often overlooked. In fact, carbon emissions caused by material handling activities within warehouses account for a significant 13% share of overall supply chain CO2 emissions (World Economic Forum, 2009).1
Above view of warehouse workers moving goods and counting stock in the aisle between rows of tall shelves full of packed boxes
How automation can help
The largest contributor to such greenhouse gas emissions is by far, energy usage. Warehouses that are heavily reliant on manual picking need more electricity to light, cool, and ventilate the facility. The implementation of Jungheinrich automated solutions allows for a reduced footprint in three main ways:
Reduced light use: our arculees are equipped with Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensors, which allow the robots to navigate even in dark corners of the warehouse, thus leading to less reliance on bright lighting. With studies2 showing that 65% of energy use goes towards lighting, this means a significant reduction in power consumption.
Less space: automated warehouses are able to feature vertical stacking of goods. These high-bay solutions require less physical space and can provide the same storage capacity as conventional warehouses twice as large.
Less fuel: while older warehouses still rely on combustion-driven vehicles, one of the most important developments in intralogistics is the move towards an electrically operated fleet. By electrifying and automating their facilities, businesses can leave the combustion-based era behind, while counting on silent and sustainable machines.
Product picking with the arculee and a Jungheinrich AGV
Further benefits towards decarbonisation
Waste reduction: the high precision of our arculees ensures less damage to products and pallets, which decreases the amount of scrap. Furthermore, the certainty that the fleet of AMR will transport goods safely means that less plastic wrapping is needed for protection.
Fewer picking errors: automated warehouses also feature little to no picking errors. This keeps unnecessary repeat tasks to a minimum, which significantly reduces emissions related to transportation.
Sustainable efforts are often delayed or stopped by concerns about how profitability will be affected. When it comes to automation, however, profitability and sustainability go hand in hand, and actually benefit each other. While initial investments might be substantial, the long-term results can be observed in operational costs, efficiency, and of course, the commitment to a greener future.
Interested in using automation to decarbonise your warehouse? We can help: learn more about our combined solutions with Jungheinrich right here.
1 Peterson, T., & Gonzalez, M. G. (2022). Quantifying Warehouse Automation and Sustainability (Doctoral dissertation).
2 Fichtinger, J., Ries, J. M., Grosse, E. H., & Baker, P. (2015). Assessing the environmental impact of integrated inventory and warehouse management. International Journal of Production Economics, 170, 717-729.
Martin started his journey in the Commercial Team last year as a working student. He puts his expertise in customer acquisition, market research, and simulation implementations for software toolchains to good use. Now, he is writing his Master’s thesis at arculus. This article will give you a glimpse of Martin’s experience with us, both as a working and thesis student.
Hi Martin! Since you started at arculus as a working student, would you tell us a little about your educational background?
Martin: “I have always been passionate about engineering. Therefore, after high school, I applied for the Bachelor in Industrial Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Karlsruhe. I was also fortunate enough to do a semester abroad at the Glasgow Caledonian University in the UK, where I completed my major in Computer-Aided Mechanical Engineering.
While applying for the Master’s, the Engineering and Management program caught my attention, and I went for it. Now I’m in the final year of my studies and writing a thesis related to Autonomous Mobile Robots. arculus couldn’t be a better option for the topic I chose!”
Sounds cool! And can you tell us about the work-study balance at arculus?
Martin: “According to my contract as a working student, I was supposed to work 20hrs/week. However, as a full-time student, these work hours were tough to handle. I had a good communication with my manager from the beginning, and we often exchanged how my workload was. He always assured me that my studies come first, and throughout the semester, he respected the lecture hours and university deadlines. Not once did I feel the pressure to choose between my studies and the job.
As a thesis student, I have more flexibility now than before. It’s my project, and I can choose to work whenever I have the time.”
How would you describe your experience so far in your team?
Martin: “So far, I have loved working with my team. They are great people to work with, and you can learn a lot from them. Also, I get critical evaluation from my colleagues during the feedback sessions. I would say it’s a perfect mix of support and challenging tasks.”
Martin socializing with his colleagues in Munich
And what makes your work experience at arculus different from your previous student jobs/internships?
Martin: “Tasks during my student job at arculus were more conceptual and had to be solved in a team. They indeed proved to be crucial for my development. My internship at another company was the opposite of this. I had to do predefined assignments, more like standard processes. Therefore, my knowledge was limited to those tasks, and opportunities to learn beyond were unfortunately blocked.”
How do you think these conceptual tasks contribute to your learning process?
Martin: “Conceptual tasks are incomplete without experimentation, in my opinion. Hence, the trial and error process plays a huge role in learning. Even if the experiment fails, there are so many new things you learn during the course. Also, the informal discussions with colleagues regarding tasks are helpful. One can always take lessons from those conversations."
Martin working on one of his projects
What is the most important thing you have learned so far?
Martin: “I have two things to mention, and I think they go hand in hand. The first is to take the initiative even if you don’t feel comfortable with the topic. One needs to come out of their comfort zone, gain knowledge and create something, even if it means creating something to hate at first. It is better to have a first draft and iterate to get better solutions than to have nothing at all. Second, as mentioned before, the trial and error process. Do not be afraid to try out new things.”
To wrap up our interview, do you have any tips for future job applicants?
Martin: “Do not hesitate to gather information while you are at arculus. You’ll always get to learn something new every day. Also, use the networking opportunity.”
If you want to write your thesis with us, reach out here!
VDA5050 is a standardized interface for the communication between AMRs/ AGVs and fleet management software. While it does make logistics automation much easier, its implementation can be challenging. With that in mind, one of arculus software specialists created a free toolchain to help other developers run the standard. Here is what you should know:
What is VDA5050?
VDA5050 is an open protocol created by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) and the VDMA Materials handling and Intralogistics Association. The goal was to standardise the communication between autonomous robots and fleet management software.
In layman’s terms: if every single AMR and AGV on the market could only communicate with their own master control, the implementation of solutions from two or more suppliers could result in interoperability issues. And with the growth in Industry 4.0 bringing increasingly more automation options to the market, customers want to make sure they can count on multiple suppliers for a large and diverse fleet of AMRs and AGVs.
“So basically, VDA5050 is supposed to be a common language between robots and fleet managers, so that customers can interchange robots and fleet software from different providers without any compatibility issues. This not only offers greater interoperability, but also protects them from vendor lock-in”, explains Alexandr, arculus Software Developer supporting with VDA5050 topics.
Needles in a haystack
According to Alexandr, implementing the standard is rather simple: “you read the open document, then you implement it”, but it does come with a few challenges. For instance, the complexity of troubleshooting. To understand that, let’s have a look at how VDA5050 uses Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) to transmit JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) data:
VDA 5050 raw JSON payloads
The blue screen contains the message that the fleet manager sends to the robot. In a real-life situation, with dozens of robots running at the same time, a high volume of similar messages is sent every second. Now, if a human has to manually inspect this information, finding an error would be like “finding a needle in a haystack”, as Alexandr describes it.
An example of this would be a fleet manager sending an order to the AMR expecting it to stop at a certain position, but the robot stopped sooner than it should. A series of hypotheses could explain the failure, but to test them, the developer would need to analyse every single position coordinate in the log.
“In practice, I would usually need to scroll to the right point in the log and copy/paste the payload to a text editor that ‘prettifies’ it, so that the indented structure is more readable. This is not only time consuming, but also extremely error-prone”, explains Alexandr.
VDA5050 order example
A bright solution for all
When confronted with this “boring, monotonous task”, as Alexandr himself describes it, he decided to look into ways of simplifying it. And as any good software developer would do, his solution was to create a digital tool: the arculus VDA 5050 Visualizer. What the mechanism does, is illustrate the data exchange between the AMR or AGV and the fleet manager in the form of a chat. It allows the user to scroll through the history of messages, while the alignment of "bubbles" indicates who sent each message.
VDA5050 payload visualizer
Just like a car display, the tool also comes with a set of symbols that the AGV sends with each message to indicate different aspects of its work, e.g.: Is it driving? Is it charging? Is it carrying loads? And so on:
VDA5050 status symbols
Further benefits of the visualiser also include compatibility with the latest version of the standard (VDA 5050 v1.1), easy operation via desktop or mobile browser, seamless integration, and no interference by design – meaning that the visualizer is a passive listener, it cannot break or otherwise affect the communication between the AGV and the fleet manager. Developers can also count on privacy assurance: arculus has no access to any information uploaded into the tool.
“This payload visualizer is a tool I wish I had at hand when I was implementing VDA 5050, as it would have saved me a lot of time and mental effort. It transforms boring and error-prone problems into purely visual issues that can be solved much easier”, concludes Alexandr.
Successfully navigating an obstacle course
Once the communication stream between robot and fleet manager is debugged using the visualiser, it is time to prove the implementation of VDA5050 with the performance of real-life tasks. For that, the arculus software team came up with a series of challenges to test the AMR. In the beginning, every single task had to be observed by a human, who would then be able to tell if the robot passed or failed the test.
After manually taking notes on countless trials, Alexandr decided to also come up with a way to automate this part of the VDA5050 implementation. And this is how the second instrument in the arculus toolkit was born: the VDA 5050 compliance test suite.
The tool consists of scenarios that are described in notation that reads like plain English. This makes it easy for every stakeholder to get on board and follow the logic of the test, even if they don’t have a technical background. Here is an example of a test produced for Audi:
AGV must drive to n90 without actions
[Documentation] Ensure that the AGV is capable of
... executing an order, by sending it a
... predefined one to drive from n82 to n90
... without any actions
Send VDA5050 go n82->n90
Wait until AGV starts moving
${data} Get one state message
The flag must be set in data driving ${data}
Wait for AGV to report reaching node 90
Wait until AGV stops moving
Wait until AGV reports it is not moving
${data} Get one state message
The flag must NOT be set in data driving ${data}
Tests such as the one above are then arranged in a sequence, forming an “obstacle course” that the AGV should go through. As the tests are executed, the live results can be observed in the console, providing a one-line summary for each test. Once the robot completes the whole course, users can also view the test results in a graphical form:
Each entry can also be inspected to get even more detailed information, down to the level of “what was the value of this particular attribute at that time?”. Here is what that looks like:
Of course, the next logical step is to understand how each task failed. For that, users can use the tool to get information about what request was sent to the AGV, how it replied, and which part of that reply was different from the expected result. Such feedback enables the team of software engineers who develop the software running on the AMR or AGV, to iterate rapidly because the exact error is pointed out.
With this automation tool, developers can rely on a facilitated ‘inclusion of compliance test’ in a continuous integration (CI) infrastructure. The mechanism also allows for total replicability, which ensures that tests are run in exactly the same way, no matter how many times or on how many devices.
“What I find interesting is that it only took me a couple of weeks to come up with the tests and get the tool running. But now that it’s ready, myself and other users can run it as many times as necessary, with little to no effort required. That for me, sums up my job: solving problems using software”, concludes Alexandr.
Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensors play an important role in safely navigating Autonomous Mobile Robots in the warehouse. How do these sensors work in our AMR, the arculee? How can they be optimised for better results, and what benefits does Intralogistics 4.0 gain from their use? Here are some interesting insights.
Over the past few years, Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) have become an integral part of Intralogistics 4.0. The industry has leveraged technology to increase productivity and reduce errors through the adoption of warehouse robots. Vital for making AMRs so effective are the onboard sensors, which enable the robot to autonomously transport materials from point A to point B without the need for physical guides. Indeed, that’s why most industries today require the use of automation with intelligence in their logistics processes.
These onboard sensors act as the eyes of AMRs. At arculus, our developers chose LiDAR sensors that can detect any obstacles and find the best path to the destination point. In layman's terms, LiDAR works as a remote sensing technology that repeatedly emits laser beams, enabling our software to measure distance, position and speed of the targets between the robot and any objects in its path. The time each laser beam takes to reflect into the sensor creates a dot or a point, these points when combined create a point cloud. These point clouds are able to depict a complete image of the environment or room, which is called a map.
LiDAR sensor in our arculee
How does LiDAR work in the arculee?
The arculee has two mounted 270° Scanner LiDAR Sensors and has the capability to produce a 360° view around the robot. When the arculee moves around within the environment, each sensor collects 1081 points (2162 points in total) in each scanning cycle, at the frequency of 33 Hz to reproduce a 3D geological mapping of the landscape.
The office map built with LiDAR data
During the mapping process, the arculee also estimates its exact position in relation to the current and previously collected points within the environment. This process is generally known as “Localisation”. When done together with mapping, it is called Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM), which can generate dynamic maps in challenging environments. This is essential for accurate robot movement within the work premises.
Once the map is built, the arculee is ready to navigate. What gives it an edge is its ability to identify objects that were not present during the mapping process. These objects can now be found in the safety field around the robot. “The arculee gets one of its three warning signs from the safety moderator, and it stops or changes its path immediately”, explains our Software Engineer, Iuri.
Iuri working on the arculee
What is the role of ROS here?
The Robot Operating System (ROS) is a set of software libraries and tools used to build robotic applications. In general, the collected data or point cloud from LiDAR sensors can be merged into the system. arculus however uses ROS only for the simulations to avoid building flaws in the arculee. It is certainly not run on the robot and has very little to do with the sensors.
What benefits does this technology offer to Intralogistics 4.0?
LiDAR sensors, unlike cameras, actively emit light signals. This means that they do not rely on external sources of light. Hence, the arculee can function even in dark corners of the warehouse.
With the safety field and data, accidents can be prevented at the premises, since the arculee is able to timely stop itself if any human or obstacle gets in its way.
Most importantly, due to its high resolution, the LiDAR is highly sensitive to even small obstacles. This makes this type of sensor a better choice than other tech options.
Is LiDAR a good investment?
Most definitely, yes! LiDAR has proven to be one of the best technologies for navigation and for avoiding collisions. Instead of modifying warehouses, the sensors help the arculee adapt to the shifting environments. This not only improves productivity and delivers better results at a reduced cost, but they are crucial for the safety of the objects and instruments in modern smart factories. LiDAR sensors allow the robot to operate at high speed, without causing damage to any objects in the environment.
