Centers of Excellence · Robotics & Autonomous Systems

Engineering machines that sense, decide and act.

ATRI designs and builds robotic and automated systems—from six-axis robots, cobots and custom end effectors to conveyors, machine vision, sensing, motion control and controller electronics.

We bring mechanical, electronics, embedded, controls, vision and AI engineering together to create complete systems engineered around the task.

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Six-axis industrial robotic arm with custom end effector integrated into a manufacturing workcell with conveyor and controller electronics
What We Engineer
From robotic platforms to complete automated systems.

ATRI engineers the mechanical, electronic, sensing, control and software elements required to turn robotic hardware into a functioning system.

Industrial Robots & Cobots

Six-axis robotic systems collaborative robots robotic workcells pick-and-place systems manufacturing automation application-specific robotic systems robot/system integration

Vision-Guided Robotics

Machine vision integration object identification vision-guided positioning vision-based training vision-guided robot control robotic quality inspection pick/place/sort decisions vision feedback

End Effectors & Manipulation

Custom end effectors grippers and tooling application-specific tooling mechanical interfaces object handling manipulation systems robot/tool integration

Motion, Planning & Control

Robot programming motion control path planning task sequencing coordinated movement control logic feedback loops error detection and correction

Conveyance & Material Handling

Conveyor system design material movement and transfer motor and drive integration positioning and detection conveyor sequencing robot/conveyor coordination sorting and routing manufacturing material handling

Sensing & Feedback

Machine vision cameras thermal sensing infrared sensing pressure sensing proximity sensing strain gauges position and process sensing application-specific IoT sensors

Autonomous Systems

AGVs AMRs UAVs / drones autonomous machines perception systems planning and control embedded/edge intelligence connected autonomous systems

ATRI has the multidisciplinary engineering capability to support development of these systems; this is not a list of completed ATRI customer projects.
Robotic System Engineering
Engineering the system around the robot.

ATRI does not simply install a robot and treat the robot as the complete solution. ATRI can bring together:

ROBOTIC PLATFORM
Six-axis robot · cobot · autonomous platform
MECHANICAL SYSTEM
Fixtures · mechanisms · conveyor · custom tooling
END EFFECTOR
Gripper · tooling · application-specific manipulation
VISION & SENSING
Cameras · thermal · infrared · proximity · pressure · strain · other sensors
CONTROL
Robot programming · motion control · sequencing · feedback
COMPUTE & ELECTRONICS
Controller electronics · embedded systems · edge compute
SOFTWARE & INTELLIGENCE
Vision processing · decision logic · AI/ML where appropriate
COMPLETE APPLICATION
Manufacturing · inspection · handling · automation

ATRI engineers the interfaces between these disciplines so the robot becomes part of a complete working system rather than an isolated machine.

Vision-Guided Robotics
Vision that guides the machine.

ATRI integrates machine vision with robotic control so robotic systems can respond to what they observe rather than relying only on predetermined motion—Vision-Guided Robotics (VGR). ATRI experience includes camera and vision integration, object identification, vision-based training, robotic positioning and control, inspection, pick-and-place and closed-loop error correction.

SEE
IDENTIFY
LOCATE
PLAN
MOVE
MANIPULATE

VERIFY and CORRECT feed back into PLAN and MOVE, forming a closed loop rather than a one-way sequence.

SEE
Camera / machine vision

The system observes the scene using cameras or other vision sensors.

IDENTIFY
Object, feature or condition

Vision processing identifies what is present in the scene.

LOCATE
Position, orientation, target

The system determines where the object or target actually is.

PLAN
Task, path, movement

The required robotic action and motion path are planned.

MOVE
Robot, motion control

The robot executes the planned motion.

MANIPULATE
End effector, pick, place, sort

The end effector performs the physical task.

VERIFY
Vision / sensor feedback

Vision or sensor feedback confirms whether the action succeeded.

CORRECT
Error correction, control adjustment

Deviations are corrected through the control loop.

Motion, Control & Feedback
From programmed motion to responsive control.

ATRI's capability extends beyond mechanical robot integration.

Robot Programming
Application logic, task sequencing and robotic operation.
Path & Motion Planning
Planning and controlling how the robot moves through the task.
Motion Control
Coordinating robotic movement, positioning and manipulation.
Sensor Feedback
Using cameras and physical sensors to understand actual system state.
Error Correction
Comparing intended and observed behavior and adjusting operation through feedback/control loops.
COMMAND
MOVE
SENSE
COMPARE
CORRECT
MOVE
End Effectors & Manipulation
Engineering the point where the robot meets the task.

ATRI has designed and built custom end effectors for robotic applications. End-effector engineering may combine:

Mechanical Design
The physical structure and mechanism of the end effector itself.
Gripping / Tooling
The specific gripping, fastening or process tooling required.
Object Geometry
The shape, size and variability of what is being handled.
Force / Application Requirements
The force, precision or process requirement of the task.
Sensors
Sensing built into or around the end effector.
Actuation
How the end effector itself is driven and controlled.
Robot Interfaces
The mechanical and electrical interface to the robot.
Manufacturing Environment
The real-world conditions the tooling must operate in.
Task Requirements
The specific operation the end effector must perform.
ROBOT
END EFFECTOR
OBJECT / PROCESS

Successful robotics engineering often depends as much on the tooling and interaction with the product as on the robot itself.

Conveyors & Manufacturing Automation
Moving more than the robot.

ATRI designs and builds conveyor and material-handling systems that combine mechanical systems, motors and drives, sensing, controller electronics and control software—complete conveyor solutions for smaller manufacturing operations, not merely connecting robots to third-party conveyors.

Capabilities

Conveyor mechanical/system design motor and drive integration controller electronics embedded/control software sensors and detection material positioning sequencing sorting/routing robot/conveyor coordination machine-vision integration complete system integration and validation

Six-axis industrial robotic arms with end-of-arm tooling positioned along a conveyor-fed manufacturing line
Six-axis robots with end-of-arm tooling integrated into a conveyor-fed manufacturing line.
MATERIAL INPUT
CONVEY / POSITION
DETECT / IDENTIFY
INSPECT / DECIDE
ROBOTIC MANIPULATION
SORT / PLACE / ROUTE
VERIFY

ATRI can engineer complete small-scale manufacturing automation solutions, not merely individual components.

Robotic Sensing
Giving machines awareness of the physical world.

Robotic systems can combine multiple sensing modalities depending on the application.

Vision
Cameras · machine vision
Thermal / Infrared
Temperature and thermal-state information
Position / Presence
Proximity · position · object detection
Pressure / Force
Pressure · strain gauges · force-related measurement
Process Sensing
Application-specific IoT and manufacturing sensors
PHYSICAL WORLD
SENSOR
CONTROL / INTELLIGENCE
ROBOTIC ACTION
Autonomous Systems
The same engineering disciplines extend beyond the factory.
AGV / AMR
Guided and mobile robots for material movement and navigation.
UAV / Drone
Aerial autonomous platforms for sensing, inspection or monitoring.
Autonomous Machine
Special-purpose machines that sense, plan and act with reduced human control.
Special-Purpose Robot
Application-specific robotic platforms outside standard industrial forms.

Autonomous machines require many of the same disciplines ATRI already brings together in robotic systems: sensing, perception, embedded computing, communications, control, motion, mechanical engineering, AI/ML and system integration.

ATRI's multidisciplinary engineering capabilities can therefore support development of mobile, aerial and application-specific autonomous systems from subsystem through integrated product.

Robotics + AI
Intelligence becomes physical action.
PERCEPTION
Vision, sensors, object identification

Sensing captures what is happening in the physical environment.

INTELLIGENCE
Interpretation, classification, decision logic, AI/ML where appropriate

Perception data is interpreted and turned into a decision.

PLANNING
Task planning, path planning, control strategy

The decision becomes a concrete plan for action.

ACTION
Robot, cobot, conveyor, autonomous machine

The plan is executed through physical robotic or automated action.

FEEDBACK
Vision, sensors, process state

The result is observed and returned to Perception, closing the loop.

Robotics provides the physical execution layer through which sensing, software and intelligence can act on the real world.

Multidisciplinary Engineering
Robotics rarely exists by itself.
Embedded Solutions
Controllers · firmware · drivers · embedded compute
Video & IoT
Cameras · machine vision · sensors · physical-world data
AI & ML
Vision intelligence · learning · decision systems
Communications & Wireless
Machine connectivity · device communications · connected systems
Industrial & Mechanical Engineering
Mechanisms · structures · fixtures · end effectors · conveyors
Power Electronics
Motor power · drives · power conversion and control
Software & Control Systems
Control software · applications · orchestration
Reliability & Compliance
Validation · reliability · product/system assurance
Engineering Problems We Solve
Bring us the robotics or automation challenge.
Build a six-axis robotic workcell
Develop a collaborative robotic application
Automate a manufacturing operation
Design a custom robotic end effector
Implement robotic pick-and-place
Add machine vision to a robotic system
Identify objects for robotic manipulation
Build a vision-guided robotic application
Automate product quality inspection
Program robot motion and task sequences
Develop path-planning and motion-control logic
Implement sensor/vision feedback
Correct robotic positioning or process errors
Design a conveyor system
Develop conveyor controller electronics
Integrate motors and drives
Coordinate conveyors and robots
Add sensors to an automated manufacturing process
Build a material-handling or sorting system
Connect robotics to edge/cloud applications
Apply AI/ML to robotic perception or decision-making
Develop an autonomous-machine architecture
Take an automation concept from prototype to working system
Selected Work
Robotics & automation engineering, in practice.
What are you trying to automate?

Whether the challenge starts with a robot, a manufacturing process, a vision problem, an autonomous-machine concept or simply a task that needs to be automated, ATRI can bring together the engineering disciplines required to turn it into a working system.

Discuss your challenge →