Embedded Robotics Design & Development

Robots are revolutionizing the way that the world works, and they are being used in many industries today. The industries embracing and being transformed by robotics are healthcare, manufacturing, and automotive, just to name a few. Cardinal Peak is experienced in embedded robotics design and has helped many customers with robotic electronics hardware development. Contact us today and find out how our robotics engineers can help you!

Engineering anything has its challenges, but when it comes to software design for robotic applications, there are several factors to keep in mind. The primary factor to consider is safety. What are the things that can go wrong? What are the consequences when they go wrong? How frequently will they happen? You prioritize development based on the frequency of the event and the severity of the outcome. As robotic applications involve moving, the next challenge is around location and orientation. For example, a robotic lawn mower needs to know precisely where it is relative to the flower bed while a robotic vacuum can be less accurate in its positional accuracy. Depending on the specific robotic application, orientation and location might be accomplished using a variety of sensors which could require more or less sophisticated algorithms to interpret. On one end of the spectrum are absolute position sensors such as digital encoders that don’t require much interpretation of the data. On the other end of the spectrum are sensors that require significant interpretation, such as cameras.

There are many different factors to evaluate when estimating the length of time that a project will take to complete. First is whether the goal is to make a proof-of-concept (POC) versus a full prototype versus a production-ready minimum viable product (MVP). A second factor is whether the work requires development of custom hardware and what type of certifications (FCC, UL, CE, etc.) are needed. Will custom tooling be required for production? After that is the complexity of the embedded software. Will sophisticated AI or ML need to be developed? Once we have an initial discussion on your specific project, we can generally give a quick ROM estimate based on similar work we have done. If that ROM matches your expectations, then we can develop a full bottom’s up budget and schedule. Contact us to learn more about our services and how we can help you today!