Teradyne Companies Accelerate AMR Development

The autonomous mobile robots product line is a growing segment in automation. A robot that moves through its environment independently increases employee safety while improving productivity. They also allow people to focus on other tasks – ones that can’t be done by AMRs. Of course, seeing the benefits, many customers are looking for a full product line of AMRs that span low, medium and high payload vehicles to automate material transport throughout the value chain. But, they also need to be able to manage them on one platform.

Mobile Industrial Robots and AutoGuide Mobile Robots, both part of Teradyne, are ahead of the demand and previously worked together to develop a method for their AMRs to operate on the same fleet management software.

Now, the two companies will merge to officially be known as Mobile Industrial Robots with long-time Teradyne executive Walter Vahey taking the helm as president. Vahey led Teradyne’s acquisition of MiR in 2018 and AutoGuide a year later.

MiR will develop and market safe and collaborative mobile robots that will cost-effectively manage internal logistics and free up employees to perform higher-value activities.

Prior to the merge, MiR offered AMRs capable of carrying payloads and pallets up to 3,000 pounds. With AutoGuide, the portfolio will expand to include high payload AMR tuggers and forklifts that will operate on the MiRFleet software.

The software enables MiR robots to navigate efficiently, individually and in fleets up to 100 robots. The robots reroute smoothly, handle large maps and interact more easily because of an enhanced UI and planner that optimize driving patterns and avoid bottlenecks.

“By joining forces, we will uniquely meet our customers’ need for automation of internal logistics, from a single supplier offering easy to deploy, reliable, scalable AMRs with common fleet management software,” said Vahey. “Being one organization helps ensure we deliver a broad AMR product line operating on a common fleet software to our customers.”

With more than 7,000 AMRs sold in more than 60 countries, the new MiR, headquartered in Denmark, employs 450 employees, including 250 engineers, to continue to develop AMRs that are a safe and efficient alternative to traditional automated guided vehicles, forklifts and pallet trucks.


Edited by Erik Linask