New AI consultant for online robot marketplace

The online marketplace RBTX.com offers over 500 robot solutions, 95% of which cost less than 12,000 euros. Even companies with no prior knowledge of robotics can put together low-cost automation solutions (LCA) here using the plug-and-program principle. "With RBTX, we want to gradually remove all the barriers that stand in the way of companies entering the world of automation," says Alexander Mühlens, authorized signatory and Head of the Low-Cost Automation division at Igus. For example, it is crucial to ensure guaranteed interoperability of all the components on offer, which makes it almost impossible to make the wrong purchase. "A further step in this direction is the introduction of a new AI advisor that interacts with interested parties to shorten the search for components in an ever-growing range."

The AI chatbot at https://chat.rbtx.de supports users in finding suitable LCA components through written interaction. The artificial intelligence draws on empirical data from hundreds of projects that companies have already successfully automated with the help of RBTX. The answers are correspondingly targeted. An example: A small workshop is suffering from a shortage of labor and wants to automate the loading of blanks onto its CNC machine. The plant's technical manager asks the new AI chatbot the question: "Which robot is suitable for loading my CNC machine?" Within a few seconds, the AI delivers the answer: "The robolink robot arm from igus would be a suitable solution here. The arm moves across five axes, has a reach of 790 millimeters, a speed of seven picks per minute and can detect the position of the components using a 3D camera. The price starts at 2,766 euros." After this answer, the user asks which gripper would be suitable. The AI consultant replies: "A parallel gripper from Zimmer would be a suitable choice." This is how users gradually put together their individual LCA solution.

"Many customers have already given us feedback that they have entered into a dialog with the AI robot consultant. It has given them a better feel for the possibilities of low-cost automation and significantly accelerated the search for suitable components," explains Mühlens. "We are therefore planning to add additional functions to the AI advisor in the future." For example, it should be possible for the consultant to embed images and video footage of references in their answers and develop complete LCA solutions with a target price.