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R4 Robotics partners with ROBOTIS to build a new generation of open robot platforms

Sunshine Coast, Australia:  R4 Robotics, an end-to-end robotics solutions company based on the Sunshine Coast, has announced its partnership with ROBOTIS (en.robotis.com) – a South Korean robotics company that has been leading the way in smart actuation and robotics for over two decades, to create the next generation of intelligent open robotics platforms.

“We are excited to partner with R4 Robotics and look forward to many opportunities the Artus-X platform will bring to the ever-increasing demand of joint based robotics for industrial robot applications.“
- Paul Park, Sales Manager (ROBOTIS Co., Ltd)

Drawing on years of research and development, R4 Robotics is developing the Artus-X platform – a two-foot wide spider-like robot to tackle complex and highly dynamic environments where drones and wheeled platforms struggle.  Artus-X is a robotic reincarnation of the cobalt blue tarantula and bears a visually striking appearance in all its glory, including fully articulated pedipalps for grasping and eight legs - each with 3 Degrees-of-Freedom.  The chief robotics engineer, Jonny Poole – a renown animatronics engineer who’s worked on film and animatronics, has designed the robot as close as possible to its natural counterpart while being true to its robotic form.

With the demand of legged robotics, R4 Robotics saw the opportunity for a low-profile intelligent robot platform that could be used to solve real-world outdoor applications like environmental monitoring and remote sensing.  The Artus-X platform will be powered by the latest NVIDIA Jetson mini-supercomputer, the Jetson Xavier NX, to allow the robot to operate fully autonomously in remote areas for extended periods of time.  Featuring a multitude of sensors including force sensing across all eight legs, non-contact temperature sensing of both ground and line of sight, as well as water contact, means the robot is well equipped to make accurate decisions and adapt in real-time to obstacles it encounters during operation.

Artus-X and its sensor array have been designed to accommodate a large number of use cases straight out of the box, but like other emerging platform robots today, will be customisable to allow end-users to add their own sensors for more specialised applications like gas monitoring in underground mines.

The partnership with ROBOTIS will allow R4 Robotics to work closely with ROBOTIS to complete the development of Artus-X, to replicate the natural movements of a spider while being durable in diverse environments.

“DYNAMIXEL not only improves the competencies of Artus-X but also allows the user to understand how Artus-X is performing overall. This is a massive advantage over other competitor servo applications.”
- Jonny Poole, Chief Robotics Engineer (R4 ROBOTICS)

With both companies having deep roots in innovation, R4 Robotics has designed the platform to be future-proof while building a core platform that can be used by researchers and engineers for creating their own smart ground-based applications in the future. 

Artus-X will be R4 Robotics first commercial robot platform in an upcoming diverse line of intelligent real-world robots. The new robot spider is expected to go on pre-order early 2021 with a limited-edition of 1000 units to be made.  R4 Robotics decided to limit production of the robot spider to create a premium platform and create a tight-knit community of early adopters using the platform.

Future applications of Artus-X will see the robot exploring the natural world, through ground-based and subterranean inspection, infrastructure monitoring, and disaster response.

“We’re proud to partner with ROBOTIS to create the next generation of open robotics platforms, especially ones like Artus-X.“
- Chris Kalle, CEO (R4 ROBOTICS)