FlexQube’s patent application regarding its unique autonomous mobile robot (AMR) system, FlexQube Navigator, was granted by the European Patent Office. The grant is for EU/EES, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The granted patent will be valid until 2041. The patent is part of FlexQube’s continuous strategy to protect its developed technologies, and the corresponding patent is expected to be granted in the USA in the near future. Corresponding patent applications are also being evaluated by patent offices in South Korea, Japan, China, Canada, and India.
The CTO of FlexQube, Per Augustsson, said, “This is very good news for FlexQube, because the patent will protect our innovative AMR system that has been developed over the past three years. The AMR system includes an autonomous robot, the FlexQube Navigator, and motorized carts designed with FlexQube’s patented building block system. The patent refers to the technology of lifting the AMR from the ground while it is coupled to a motorized FlexQube cart, enabled by a smart coupling interface, creating a combined AMR system.
The smart and standardized coupling interface between the AMR and the motorized cart, including lifting the AMR from the ground, gives an outstanding level of safety and flexibility that enables only one standardized AMR to transport carts with a large variation in size and payload capacity. This gives companies, with a great need to move carts of different size and shape, unique opportunities to implement automated material handling in a safe and efficient way. The standardized coupling also adds the opportunity for FlexQube to increase sales and generate recurring license revenues, by establishing partnerships with companies that want to develop user case-specific applications that are compatible with the FlexQube Navigator.
At the moment, the AMR system is used by one of the world’s largest car manufacturers, which is conducting a pilot with the patented technology. The certification of the product will be completed during the third quarter, and the order book for the product has recently opened.”
The global market for automated material handling robots was valued at approximately $2 billion in 2022, and is projected to reach approximately 10 billion USD by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 17.9%.
The company believes that the grant is evidence that the modular strategy of FlexQube is very innovative in a market that is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.
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