iq industry automation ; machine vision ; software ; artificial intelligence ; big data ; cybernetics founded 2001 commenced operations 2008 headquarters nashville tennessee key people david a. peters ceo hob wubbena vp richard alan peters ii ph.d. cto products neocortex ; spatial vision unlimited depalletization 3d inspection engineering services website http www.universalrobotics.com this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . december 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message universal robotics inc. is a software engineering and robotics company headquartered in nashville tennessee . 1 2 the company offers state of the art artificial intelligence with multi dimensional sensing and motion control to help companies automate processes from making machines more flexible to analyzing big data . 3 founded in 2008 the company specializes in complex processes not previously automated . 4 universal s flagship intelligence software neocortex enables robots to perform tasks too costly dangerous or impossible for humans to undertake . the technology was funded by darpa and nasa and was originally co developed through a 7 year 5 partnership between nasa and vanderbilt university 4 and is employed in nasa s robonaut . 3 by combining the neocortex intelligence platform with modular sensing and control software products universal robotics currently provides flexible applications for materials handling . today s software products include 3d machine vision products 6 spatialvision spatial vision robotics spatial vision inspection and automated robot programming autonomy . applications 7 include unlimited box moving unlimited depalletization random bin picking random bag picking and 3d inspection . nasa robonaut contents 1 products and services 1.1 neocortex 1.2 3d vision software spatial vision 1.3 automated robot programming autonomy 2 applications 2.1 unlimited box moving & unlimited depalletization application 2.2 random bin picking application 2.3 random bag picking application 2.4 3d inspection application 2.5 engineering 3 leadership 4 references 5 external links products and services edit universal robotics offers three modular software product families neocortex provides real time intelligence . spatial vision performs multi dimensional sensing spatial vision robotics 3d vision guidance spatial vision inspection 3d visual inspection . autonomy provides automated enhanced control of robots and machines . 8 neocortex edit neocortex is a form of artificial intelligence ai that allows mobile machines such as robots to learn from their experiences in the physical world rather than being programmed to act . 9 traditional ai gives robots programmed actions corresponding to variables leading to failure each time an unprogrammed variable is encountered . neocortex is based on the pattern of learning in nature which is common to all creatures . 10 the patent protected software allows a machine to develop its own understanding from sensing and acting in the physical world using information from up to 70 channels of sensor data . 4 nvidia gpus are used to speed up processing . 11 with neocortex machines learn from their experiences . it enables robots to perform nearly any task that requires adaptive human input . neocortex allows a machine to determine its actions by remembering what worked and failed in past attempts . it responds dynamically to change with real time sensory input and uses memory to match what is known with what it is learning . 12 its database compounds over time allowing for adaptation . with enough experience neocortex can enable a machine to draw correlations to attempt an entirely new solution to a given task . 13 neocortex technology was developed at vanderbilt university and nasa where it was used as brain of robonaut . 14 15 today neocortex is enabling machines to perform highly specialized automated tasks that require them to react and adapt to their environments . for example in the materials handling industry neocortex helps machines adapt to mixed size boxes for palletizing and de palletizing . traditional ai has not typically worked in this area because of the difficulty in programming for every circumstance . 4 since neocortex helps machines learn it can adapt to a highly variable palletization process . 16 3d vision software spatial vision edit universal s spatial vision line of products was created during the development of neocortex . 9 the products provide 3d vision and include spatial vision spatial vision robotics and spatial vision inspection . 17 3d vision systems have many benefits over 2d including better accuracy and object identification . although technology advances have reduced expense and complexity slow adoptions exist because of long standing perceptions that systems are costly and difficult to maintain . 18 spatial vision software combines the images from two off the shelf usb webcams to determine a point s 3d coordinates . 19 this 3d data can be used to measure identify objects and calibrate to help guide robots with higher accuracy than 2d systems . spatial vision provides 0.1 sub pixel accuracy 20 but does not require precision mounting or specialized cameras which makes it easy to set up 19 and costs a fraction of traditional 3d vision systems . 9 the product provides programmatic interfaces to 3d calibration files for custom c c and matlab applications . 20 it supports gige allied vision cameras and accuracy tools such as snap to corner measurement assistance and accuracy calculator displays . 21 motoman robot in universal robotics lab . spatial vision can be used for tasks ranging from engineering applications to motion capture to improved facial recognition . 11 the system also can be used to measure situations such as in store foot traffic patterns as well as scientific applications requiring object tracking and visual analytics . 18 it can be deployed in any setting where a pair of cameras can be installed including manufacturing lines warehouses laboratories office buildings and department stores . 4 universal also partnered with logitech to launch the spatial vision logitech bundle which includes the spatial vision software two webcams and a pair of 3d glasses . 1 spatial vision robotics provides 3d vision guidance software which is specially engineered to guide robots . it tracks moving machinery being controlled with spatial vision s 3d data relative to its surroundings and objects of interest . 18 the software offers real time vision guidance for random parts picking pallet sorting automated kitting and box moving palletization and depalletization . 22 as part of an ongoing collaboration with motoman robotics a division of yaskawa america inc. universal launched motosight 3d spatial vision a 3d vision system for cost effective flexible and scalable real time guidance for motoman robots . 1 9 the system determines six degrees of object position and pose information x y z rx ry rz and is accurate within 2 4 mm with off the shelf logitech 9000 webcams . accuracy can be improved by substituting webcams with gige cameras . 23 spatial vision inspection provides 3d inspection of objects up to the size of a pallet . it improves quality by reducing the variability of visual inspection while inspecting at production speeds . in the case of pallets it identifies a wide range of defects such as raised nails damaged wood split or loose boards or missing wood . 24 spatial vision inspection creates an accurate 3d image of the object with the proper placement of a combination of cameras and other sensors . this enables clarity even at the edges of the field of view where most the damage to pallets occur . 25 in 2011 spatial vision inspection provided the first industrial application using the microsoft kinect structured light sensor to provide real time 3d . then in 2012 it was the first industrial application using four simultaneous microsoft kinect structured light sensors . 26 both spatial vision robotics and spatial vision inspection use a variety of sensors and cameras for multi d sensing such as structured light sensors camera pairs stereopsis webcams lasers light detection and ranging lidar and time of flight sensors . 12 automated robot programming autonomy edit universal s autonomy is motion control software that automates robot programming 14 for moving a robot at high speed using a variety of sensor inputs . it provides real time autonomous reaction for robots as well as motion planning and collision avoidance . autonomy couples spatial vision robotics with robot kinematics to allow a robot to react dynamically to changes in object positioning . for example the software will allow a paint spraying robot to maintain a consistent distance from an assembly line part swaying on a moving cable which reduces over spray . applications edit universal robotics applications include unlimited box moving and unlimited depalletization random bin picking random bag picking and 3d inspection . 7 unlimited box moving & unlimited depalletization application edit universal robotics recently introduced on the fly handling of boxes of any size a new area of flexible automation for logistics . it moves up to 1 400 cases per hour of cartons never seen before in any orientation with any combination of labels . 27 the application works independently of box variability including size or condition weight location or orientation within the work cell label quantity type or box graphics or color . the boxes can also be in any random orientation or location . 28 the application can move an unlimited number of boxes palletizing or depalletizing whether on the floor on a moving conveyor or in a container . it unloads partial mixed or full pallets of loosely or tightly packed boxes regardless of the number of layers and handles single double and triple picks on the fly . it can move boxes from floor to conveyor table to pallet pallet to conveyor truck to conveyor or assembly line to staging area . its flexibility enables picking and placing a wide range of box sizes from 6 inches up to 48 inches . the application provides depalletization of pallets up to 48 inches x 48 inches and 60 inches high . stacking of the cases can be in any orientation and order and layers can be fully packed to partially filled or homogeneous to mixed . boxes can be plain or have a variety of shipping labels tape lettering or graphic designs . boxes may contain frozen goods or require special handling for fragile contents . random bin picking application edit the random bin picking application enables a robot to automatically move a number of randomly placed parts at typical speeds regardless of their orientation or how deep the stack . it uses a suite of sensors that integrates off the shelf structured light sensors and pairs of cameras for stereoscopic vision . 29 the standard application moves one part in any orientation at up to 30 per minute with standard motion control . whether loosely or tightly packed either on the floor conveyor or container the parts can be in any orientation . it also provides 3d guidance to the robot regardless of the presence or type of labels or material type and whether the parts are individually placed on a flat or randomly packed tightly in bin up to 48 inches deep . this cost effective approach eliminates expensive fixturing and automated tables and works well under varying light conditions . optionally universal s random bin picking can handle up to 3 parts in any orientation with any combined mix of skus per layer . optional high speed sensor servoing can further increase throughput where required . random bag picking application edit the random bag picking application enables a robot to automatically move a number of randomly placed bags at typical speeds regardless of their orientation or how many layers are piled together . it uses a cost effective suite of sensors that integrate off the shelf structured light sensors and pairs of cameras for stereoscopic vision . 30 the standard application moves one bag in any orientation at up to 12 per minute with standard motion