AMR and AGV deployment are supposed to deploy with little to no complexity. The reality is that this is rarely the case. When manufacturers embark on robotics integration projects, they often discover a hidden challenge: the extensive team of specialized engineers needed not just for deployment, but for ongoing operations. Let's unpack this complexity and explore how modern solutions are transforming the approach.

The Traditional Integration Team: More Complex Than You Think

Successful robot integration traditionally requires a surprisingly diverse engineering team:

Pre-Deployment Phase

• Project Owners: define success and work backwards to create a requirements document with feature and technical specifications. Note: This is the most important part of a project that should not be overlooked!
• Systems Architects: design an automated equipment system, hardware and software, that meets the requirements defined by the project owner
• Controls Engineers: understand each robot brand's specific requirements and provide feedback to the Systems Integration Architect
• Software Engineers: provide feedback to the Systems Integration Architect about networking, integration, resource constraints, etc.

Integration Phase

• Controls Engineers: implements robot-to-system communication
• Software Engineers: implements the software system and creates interface
• Systems Engineers: Implements non-robot hardware, communication protocols, and custom clients between hardware, robots and software system

Operations Phase

• Systems Engineer: ongoing maintenance of additional hardware and clients
• Controls Engineer: robot maintenance, modifications, updates, new robots
• Automation Engineer: optimization and continuous improvement. Note: this is an important consideration of achieving and surpassing ROI that is often overlooked! 
• Trained operator: manage fleet activities day-to-day
• Trained workforce: the non-operators still need to be trained on working with robots in your facility

The challenge? Each role requires brand-specific expertise, making cross-training difficult and creating significant operational bottlenecks. With skilled labor shortages in manufacturing labor, finding and retaining this specialized talent becomes increasingly expensive and time-consuming.

The Real Impact on Your Operations

This engineering complexity creates cascading challenges:

• Extended deployment timelines waiting for specialized talent
• High training costs for brand-specific systems
• Operational delays when key personnel leave
• Difficulty scaling automation due to engineering constraints
• Increased risk from reliance on specific individuals

Transforming the Integration Approach

This is where FleetGlue transforms the equation. Instead of requiring specialized engineers for each robot brand and integration phase, our platform standardizes the entire process:

Simplified Pre-Deployment

• Single interface for all robot brands
• Automated configuration tools that greatly reduce the need for additional hardware
• Standardized safety protocols
• Pre-built integration frameworks

Streamlined Integration

• No brand-specific programming required
• Automated robot onboarding
• Unified control system
• Standardized deployment process

Optimized Operations

• Single platform for all robot management, alerting, and analytics
• Self-service diagnostics, debugging, and troubleshooting
• Automated optimization tools
• Simple process for adding new robots

The Engineering Impact

With FleetGlue, your engineering needs shift dramatically:

• Reduce specialized engineering requirements by up to 66%
• Train operators in hours instead of weeks
• Enable existing staff to manage multiple robot brands without additional training
• Minimize reliance on external integration and optimization experts
• Streamline ongoing maintenance and optimization

Real World Perspective

Consider a typical mixed-fleet deployment:

Traditional Approach:

• 3 Controls Engineers
• 1 Systems Architects
• 2 Systems Engineers
• 1-2 Software Engineers
• Regular operators for day-to-day management
• Ongoing specialized support team

With FleetGlue:

• 1 Systems Engineer
• 1 Controls Engineer
• Regular operators for day-to-day management
• Minimal specialized support needed

Looking Forward

As manufacturers continue adding robots to their operations, the traditional approach of building large, specialized engineering teams becomes increasingly unsustainable. The future belongs to solutions that simplify integration and management while reducing reliance on scarce engineering talent.

Ready to transform your approach to robot integration? Learn how FleetGlue can help you deploy and manage any mobile robot while dramatically reducing your engineering overhead. Contact us to discover how manufacturers are cutting integration complexity by 66% while simplifying their automation journey.