Pittsburgh Innovates

After 30 years of innovation research, Seegrid Corp. has given birth to two industrial mobile robots that are changing the way robots work on the job. Gone are the guidewires and tracks that helped robots to navigate yesterday.

Seegrid’s hardworkers have 360-degree, 3D grid vision—see grid, get it? The camera-like vision enables them to learn a job, such as stocking industrial racks, after moving through it with an operator.

The best part is the robots are affordable, improve safety and save money, says Greg Cronin, executive vice president. After all, robots work long hours and don’t need health benefits or vacations.

“We’re pretty unique,” he explains. “We think our technology is the beginning of the future of this technology. We’re just going to get smarter and enable machines to do better things.”

The Lawrenceville-based firm was founded in 2003 by robotic research scientist Hans Moravec of Carnegie Mellon University’s Mobile Robot Lab. Seegrid currently employs 21 people and plans to hire 4 to 5 people in the next six months, a combination of engineers and sales people, Cronin says.

A collaborative effort with Giant Eagle recently helped Seegrid test and fine-tune the technology. GE was the first to use the GT3 the GT8, which tug and lift 3,000 and 8,000 pounds respectively, to stock its warehouse. The collaboration was supported through a Kick Start grant of $15,000 from the Greater Oakland Keystone Innovation Zone.

“What excites Giant Eagle about Seegrid’s technology is that it is incredibly sophisticated machinery yet it is easy to use and very durable with high reliability,” says Larry Baldauf of Giant Eagle.

Seegrid plans a massive launch of its products and to show them at a huge trade show in Germany this spring.

To see the GT3 in action, click here.