Apr 3 2019
Flexiv Ltd. has piloted in a new generation of industrial robot with the introduction of its new robot, Rizon, at the 2019 Hannover Messe trade fair. Rizon is the first adaptive robot in the world integrating direct force control with cutting-edge AI, thus opening doors for superior performance and wider scope of robotic operations across several industries including healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and more.
Rizon performs a polishing task at Hannover Messe 2019. (Image credit: Flexiv)
The adaptive robot has three unique traits that distinguish it from earlier robots—high disturbance rejection, superior tolerability in position variance, the intelligent transferability for rapid redeployment between similar product series or operations.
Flexiv combines force control robotics with cutting-edge AI to enable advanced perception, force-guided manipulation, and versatile task planning with real-time adaptiveness that enables the robotic arm to function effectively in unclear surroundings.
Flexiv Rizon realizes the new level of adaptivity by tailored joint design, self-developed control electronics, exclusive force sensing technology, and hierarchical intelligence system. It also comprises of industrial grade safety features guaranteed by the hardware architect and torque-based control structure for fundamentally safe interaction in undefined environment.
Rizon, offering unparalleled levels of adaptivity in robot design, can be automated to perform a wide variety of industrial operations. These include polishing, precision insertion, deburring, force-based quality testing, etc.
Our robots are developed to have advanced manipulation skills to handle complex tasks in uncertain environments, which helps to provide flexible automation solutions for wider range of tasks in different industries.
Shiquan Wang, Co-Founder and CEO, Flexiv..
Utilizing AI-based computer vision with depth camera, Rizon senses and identifies objects even in tough environments, then produces its own motion and operation plans. The in-built AI learning system allows the robot to not merely learn specific tasks but in fact integrate them to perform more intricate ones. It also radically shortens installation and programming time.
It's quite unusual to see a startup develop a robotic arm from scratch that has a precise force control system integrated with top-notch AI technologies. It can be applied to a whole range of industries such as automotive, 3C production, agriculture, and so on. Flexiv has a world-class team and huge market potential.
Bin Yue, Founding Partner, Gaorong Capital.
Operators enjoy generous cost advantageous not only from streamlined arrangement and low downtime, but from labor cuts, smaller production lines, and the redundancy of safety procedures or extra equipment required of conventional position-controlled robots.
The advantages are being evidently shown in proof-of-concept experiments that the company is presently conducting with world-leading manufacturing firms as part of its Early Adopter Program (EAP). Through its EAP, Flexiv is garnering leading industry customers offering personalized solutions and first deployments of Rizon.
Conventional robots were position-controlled, set to move from point A to point B but with no ability to restrict the force they use to reach there, necessitating stringent safety controls. The next generation robot, christened the "collaborative robot", introduced force detection, paving the way to a new age of human-robot collaboration.
However, it is the third generation of adaptive robots, marked by forced control and advanced AI, that Flexiv seeks to govern with a robotic arm that is more versatile, adaptive, and intelligent across a wider task set than competing arms, and which develops the market for where and how robots are employed in industrial applications.
Flexiv is supported by top level VCs. It has clinched a total funding of over 22 million USD by GSR Ventures, Gaorong Capital, M-Fund, ZhenFund, and Shunwei Capital.