Three Layers of Abstraction

Think of the abstraction layers as progressively refined lenses that focus on different operational needs. Within mobile robotics there are three layers of abstraction:

• At the lowest level, raw data streams directly from mobile robots, error codes, status messages
• The middle layer, mobile robots communicate with other robots, IoT equipment, and higher level systems
• At the highest level, fleet orchestration

Choose wisely

Any implementation of mobile robots needs to consider all levels of abstraction, to ensure that mobile robots are achieving their ROI.

Optimizing the lowest level data requires robotics specialists, but can be beneficial as it leads to earlier identification of hardware failures.

Optimizing the highest level will ensure that your robots are taking optimally efficient paths and avoiding deadlocks. The challenge is that starting here only makes sense where there are only two major systems at play, the enterprise resource planning software (ERP) and mobile robots. Starting at this level assumes a highly complicated integration because of the complexities of ERP and operational nuances. After the initial integration, this system is expected to run unchanged. This system could facilitate scaling fleets, but changes to this system are costly and mean starting from scratch.

Optimizing the middle layer will ensure that your robots are ready to integrate with the other systems in your facility. This is needed in environments with disparate systems, for example PLCs, IoT devices, ERPs, MES’s, and maybe even multiple brands of robots. Without optimization,

• Integrating mobile robots into existing operations involves downtimes, expensive custom logic and communication, brand specific knowledge, and additional sensors
• Optimizing mobile robots requires a high level of brand specific knowledge and a lot of time (without a hugely robust (expensive) system)
• Scaling mobile robot deployments is impossible because of the cost of custom logic

Choose FleetGlue

FleetGlue is a robust, out of the box system that optimizes this middle layer of communication. FleetGlue can connect to existing automation equipment and mobile robots in a matter of minutes. Every robot, regardless of brand, is treated the same way on FleetGlue.

 Our proprietary abstraction layer will translate low level data from the robot into data that is (a) the same across all brands (b) available to operators in plain English, (c) ready to connect to disparate systems. These 3 points facilitate something magical - a single pane of glass through which your team receives actionable insights that your existing maintenance and operations teams can understand and act on immediately. Instead of needing robotics engineers to interpret anomalies, your team can proactively address issues, optimize pathways, and improve fleet performance through our intuitive interface. When changes to the system are required FleetGlue’s powerful, yet intuitive, no code, if-then logic builder lets operators implement complex logic for mobile robot missions involving multiple systems, with a smile on their face as they are now enabled to work more efficiently. 

In 2025, we plan to use AI to monitor low level data, increase the platform’s intuition even more with natural language mobile robot programming, and reduce the need for operator’s mental bandwidth to improve mobile robot operations.

If you are interested in learning more about FleetGlue’s abstraction layer, please reach out!

Ready to transform your post-deployment operations? Learn how FleetGlue helps manufacturers cut ongoing costs while maximizing robot fleet value. Contact us to discover how you can reduce post-deployment expenses by up to 66% while simplifying operations across your entire fleet.