Adept Technology Inc. has received an order worth more than $1 million from Techmetics Solutions Pte. Ltd. for mobile robots to serve the hospitality and food and beverage industries in Southeast Asia.
Pleasanton, Calif.-based Adept‘s Lynx autonomous intelligent vehicles (AIVs) are intended for material handling purposes and can avoid obstacles and determine the best path to complete a task, according to a press release. The logistics robots can be deployed in fleets and work safely alongside people, as part of the growing collaborative robot, or co-robot market.
According to Adept, users of its AIVs can get a return on investment in as little as a year. The company provides mobile robots and control and tracking software for the food, warehouse, logistics, manufacturing, and semiconductor markets, with 55 customers in North America, Asia, and Europe.
Techmetics’ Techi robot waiter uses Adept’s Lynx technology.
“We are excited to partner with Adept and deploy Lynx-based solutions into the hospitality, food and beverage market, where the robots’ onboard intelligence, exceptional navigation, and safety features make them ideal for a host of transportation tasks,” said Mathan Muthupillai, chairman of Singapore-based Techmetics, whose Techi robot waiter aims to reduce manpower needs in restaurants and hotels.
Last month, the Singapore Industrial Automation Association and the National Trades Union Congress Employment and Employability Institute, a.k.a. e2i, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to help educate workers about new technologies. The MOU’s goals are to facilitate retraining and to encourage workers and customers to be more accepting of robots in service-related industries.
A report from MarketsandMarkets in Dallas predicts that the global service robotics market will grow to $19.4 billion by 2020. Major players in the sector include Intuitive Surgical, iRobot Corp., Honda Motor Co., Google Inc., and MAKO Surgical Corp.
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Adept Bouncing Back
In 2014, Adept rebounded from a drop in revenue that it had suffered since 2010. Earlier this month, the company said it its revenue for the third quarter of 2015 were $14.1 million compared with $15.1 million for the same period a year earlier.
In an earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Seth Halio blamed the decline on foreign exchange rates. He also projected that Adept’s revenue for the fourth quarter would be from $13.5 million to $15 million, based in part on market improvement in Europe.
“We are excited to be working with Techmetics as we expand our mobile products into new markets,” said Rob Cain, Adept president and CEO.
