BB acquires Sevensense to expand leadership in next-generation artificial intelligence mobile robots
ABB has announced that it has acquired Swiss start-up Sevensense, a leading provider of artificial intelligence 3D vision navigation technology for autonomous mobile robots (AMR). Sevensense was founded in 2018 as a spin-out of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich.
Sami Atiya, President of ABB Robotics and Discrete Automation, said: “This marks an important step towards our vision of a workplace where AI-powered robots assist humans, meeting the needs of our customers for greater productivity amid an acute shortage of skilled labor. The need for flexibility and intelligence. Each mobile robot equipped with vision and artificial intelligence scans a unique part of the building; together the robots complement each other's vision to form a complete map, allowing them to work autonomously in rapidly changing environments. "
The acquisition follows a minority investment in Sevensense in 2021 after it joined the company's innovation ecosystem, the same year ABB acquired ASTI Mobile Robotics. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Following pilot customer projects in the automotive and logistics industries, ABB will integrate Sevensense’s technology into the company’s AMR portfolio, delivering an unprecedented combination of speed, accuracy and payload.
The mobile robotics market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 20% from $5.5 billion to $9.5 billion by 2026, and ABB’s AI-driven 3D vision technology is at the forefront of this growth.
Sevensense’s groundbreaking navigation technology combines artificial intelligence and 3D vision to enable AMRs to make intelligent decisions and differentiate between fixed and moving objects in dynamic environments. Once manually guided, mobile robots using Vision-based Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (Visual SLAM) technology create maps for independent operation, reducing commissioning time from weeks to days and enabling AMRs to interact with humans Navigate a highly complex, dynamic environment together. Maps are continuously updated and shared across the fleet, providing instant scalability without disrupting operations and greater flexibility than other navigation technologies.
The partnership with Sevensense highlights ABB’s commitment to fostering the success of a new generation of innovation. Through its partner ecosystem and collaborations with start-ups and universities, ABB develops leading technologies that benefit businesses around the world. Sevensense's approximately 35 employees will continue to be based in Zurich, Switzerland.
