Flowstate is a minimal coding software platform for robotics. (Image Credit: Intrinsic)
On May 15th, Intrinsic, a robotics platform, unveiled its Flowstate software for programming, designing, and deploying automation control software in industrial robotics hardware. It also announced robot manufacturer and global systems integrator Comau as its first partner. Anyone interested in Flowstate can sign up for Beta testing set to launch in July.
"Our mission is, in short, to democratize access to robotics," said Intrinsic CEO Wendy Tan White. "We're making the ability to program intelligent robotic solutions as simple as standing up a website or mobile application."
We all know that web or mobile development isn't as easy as some might think. The same applies to Flowstate. It can link sharable and reusable modules that control hardware behavior and works with the Gazebo simulator.
"A massive amount of time is still spent on the plumbing that supports robotic solutions while ultimately essential," explained Torsten Kroeger, CTO. "Solving this complicated puzzle takes away from the process of creatively solving the problem or task at hand. Imagine if every mobile app developer had to build their own operating system from first principles simply to publish a new mobile app."
Kroeger also said that Intrinsic developed Flowstate to make it easier for developers to build automation infrastructure that has a demand for security, safety, and privacy. White said, "this is an ecosystem effort," when insisting that an individual product or service won't bring robotics hardware and software together.
The software platform works in conjunction with ROS and popular robotics tools, allowing users to access graphics programming and system design in a framework. As a result, those who aren't well-versed in robotics can access robotics programming. "You'll be able to simulate and validate solutions without touching a single piece of hardware," said Jake McCarter, Intrinsic head of platform product. "And a graphical process builder removes the need for extensive programming experience, giving new developers the tools they need to get started in no time."
"We believe that Intrinsic Flowstate will make it much faster to design, program, and reprogram robotic work cells, saving hundreds of manual programming hours on every project," said Cmau CEO Pietro Gorlier Gorlier. "This way we also tackle the shortage of qualified programmers in the industries that are approaching automation for the first time."
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