Robot and AI: ABB-Covariant partnership

ABB (world supplier of industrial robots) announces the start of a partnership with Covariant (AI startup of Silicon Valley)

With the aim of accelerating expansion in the sectors of distribution and electronic commerce, ABB (world supplier of industrial robots) announces the start of a partnership with Covariant (AI startup of Silicon Valley) for the production and marketing of robotic solutions equipped with artificial intelligence.

The first one, Covariant Brain, is in fact a completely autonomous solution for e-commerce distribution centers.

It is a universal “brain” that allows robots to see, think and act in the environment in which they find themselves, carrying out tasks that are too complex and varied for traditionally programmed robots.

Covariant’s software allows robots to focus on progressive learning, adapting autonomously with an empirical process (“mistake and retry”), to constantly expand the range of objects to be handled.

The first installation of the solution will be carried out at Active Ants, a large distribution center for e-commerce companies located in Utrecht (NL).

NOTE. The partnership was created at the behest of ABB, which in 2019 launched a worldwide competition to evaluate 20 startups of AI technologies, called to present concrete solutions for 26 actual picking, packaging and sorting tasks. The goal was to find a technological partner with which to develop a solid AI solution, able to support autonomous handling activities and allow robots to handle a practically infinite range of items.