The Challenge:
—The Software ‘Make or Buy’ Dilemma
For mobile robot OEMs and integrators, the choice between developing software in-house or purchasing third-party solutions is a critical decision that shapes the scalability and success of their offerings.
While building high-performance hardware and understanding the unique customer needs is already hard enough, creating reliable, flexible, and scalable software often presents a significant additional hurdle.
There are two key success factors for mobile robot OEMs and integrators to win the market:
- Fast Development:
OEMs must innovate quickly to capture new market opportunities and address the growing demand for automation across industries.
- Fast Deployment:
Integrators need customizable, easy-to-integrate software that adapts to diverse customer environments, ensuring rapid deployment and seamless operations.
Building a prototype and launching a first pilot is relatively easy.
While going beyond, addressing the long tail of issues alongside facing diverse customer requirements, lots of mobile robot OEMs are rapidly getting overwhelmed.
There's just too many requirements that need to made sure:
- Reliable Core Functionalities:
Original equipment manufacturers require industrial-grade software capabilities, including localization, navigation and fleet management, that are capable of performing reliably across a range of different and challenging industrial conditions.
- Flexible Customization:
The unique nature of each customer and use case requires software that can integrate seamlessly with peripheral devices and management systems, including warehouse management systems (WMS) and traffic/order management systems like VDA5050.
- Future-Proof Technology:
It is essential for OEMs to guarantee that their software is continually updated to meet the evolving demands of the market. This requires the adoption of new technologies, such as computer vision and AI, without the need for constant redevelopment.
Unfortunately, neither the “make” nor “buy” approach alone adequately addresses these demands:
- Making Software:
The advantage of developing software internally is that it offers independence. Conversely, this approach often results in longer development cycles, higher costs and delayed market entry.
- Buying Software:
The purchase of software can reduce the time taken to bring a product to market, but it can also restrict the ability to make changes and adaptations, tie original equipment manufacturers into supplier ecosystems, and limit their flexibility in meeting specific client needs.
The Solution:
—From ‘Make or Buy’
to ‘Make and Buy’
NODE Robotics addresses these challenges directly through NODE.OS, an unrivalled software platform that combines the benefits of both the “make” and “buy” approaches.
NODE.OS offers mobile robot OEMs and integrators a highly flexible, scalable, and reliable software foundation while maintaining the customization and independence they need to deliver tailored solutions to their customers.
Key Components of NODE.OS:
- Hardware Agnostic Integration:
NODE.OS includes connectors for various robotic hardware, compute systems, and sensors, giving OEMs the freedom to choose the best components for their robots. This eliminates the lock-in effect common with third-party software suppliers and allows for cost-efficient, high-performance robots across various industries.
- Core Skills:
NODE.OS comes preloaded with core functionalities such as SLAM, navigation, routing, and fleet management. OEMs can rely on these industrial-grade capabilities, ensuring they don’t have to develop these complex features from scratch. Moreover, NODE.OS supports integration with third-party software, further enhancing flexibility without compromising technological independence.
- Software Adapters:
Seamless integration with management systems is crucial for OEMs. NODE.OS also provides ready-made adapters to commonly used systems such as VDA5050, making it easy to integrate with existing workflows and peripheral devices, reducing deployment time and ensuring smooth operation.
- Custom Development Environment:
To meet the unique needs of customers, NODE.OS includes a DIY development environment, enabling OEMs to build custom features and extend the core functionalities. This strikes the perfect balance between fast deployment and the ability to deliver highly customized solutions.
The Benefits:
—A Platform for High-Impact, Scalable Robotics Innovation
Providing mobile robot OEMs and integrators a flexible, scalable and future-proof platform, NODE.OS addresses the most critical roadblocks that keep the industry from scaling.
Unlike many other products, NODE.OS is not a black box.
The platform is designed to provide OEMs and integratoes with full transparency and control, ensuring they are not limited by a closed ecosystem or tied to a single source.
- Accelerated Go-to-Market:
Pre-built core functionalities and hardware connectors allow mobile robot OEMs and integrators to focus on fine-tuning and customer-specific adaptations, cutting down development time and ensuring faster time to market.
- Customization and Flexibility:
NODE.OS gives mobile robot OEMs and integratorsfull control over their software. The platform offers a DIY environment for customization, enabling them to create their own features, integrate seamlessly with third-party systems, and adapt the software to meet their unique customer needs—all without the limitations of a closed, proprietary product.
- Independence without Lock-In:
A wide range of sensors and compute systems are supported by NODE.OS, giving mobile robot OEMs and integrators the freedom to choose the best components for their robots. This eliminates the risk of being tied to a single supplier and the potential for being limited by unchanging systems that could hold back future innovation or scaling efforts.
- Long-Term Reliability:
NODE.OS's robust core skills and broad integration capabilities ensure consistent performance across diverse and high-dynamic environments, reducing downtime and enhancing operational efficiency. The transparent architecture offers mobile robot OEMs and integrators the flexibility to modify or expand their systems as needed, without relying on external developers or vendors.
- Future-Proof Technology:
NODE Robotics sees the wave of disruptive technologies coming. With this in mind, NODE.OS is designed to seamlessly integrate future advances in robotics and AI. The platform's architecture allows for easy integration of the latest innovations, such as next-generation computer vision and machine learning capabilities, ensuring that OEMs can adopt these capabilities without major system overhauls. This future-ready design enables mobile robot OEMs and integrators to remain competitive while continuously evolving their solutions.
The Results:
—Industry-Proven Scalability and Performance
Proved to be scalable across multiple industries and applications, NODE.OS has been deployed in demanding industrial environments.
Trusted by leading mobile robot OEMs worldwide, NODE.OS helps mobile robot manufacturers deliver and integrate powerful, future-proof solutions that reduce downtime, improve operational efficiency and support long-term growth.
Mobile robot OEMs and integrators no longer have to choose between making or buying software. NODE Robotics provides with NODE.OS a scalable, reliable and customizable platform that enables to quickly innovate, deploy efficiently and stay in the forefront of market demands.
Discover how NODE.OS can accelerate your robotics deployment and help you deliver customized, future-proof solutions.
Contact us for a one-on-one demo and see how we can help you and your business.
