Autonomous Solutions, Inc. (ASI) has officially unveiled FORGE™, a new open-interface extensible ground robot, at the AUVSI Unmanned Systems 2013 conference in Washington, D.C. Answering the many requests for an x-by-wire skid steer base that can be expanded for a variety of robotic applications, the Forge platform enables developers and end users to buy and sell hardware and software application packages for unmanned industrial, military, and commercial uses.
Forge utilizes ASI’s x-by-wire electronics that have been fielded around the world with Fortune 500 partners in the automotive, military, agriculture, mining, and materials handling industries. Ford Motor Company recently profiled their success using ASI technology to operate robotic test vehicles over thousands of rough miles each month. Forge’s versatile electronics can be coupled with higher level components to accomplish remote control, teleoperation, full autonomy, and coordinated multi-vehicle control. Users will be able to create and operate their own apps through the Forge API or leverage ASI’s standard hardware and software packages including Mobius™ Command & Control, Vantage™ Obstacle Detection and Avoidance, and a variety of sensor suites.
ASI will actively seek feedback on this new product at the AUVSI conference and on the website to understand developer’s desired interface and operating system choices in order to accelerate their product time to market.
FORGE will be available for sale on September 1, 2013.
