SeRoNet
The [Se]rvice [Ro]bot [Net]work (SeRoNet) aims to develop an open platform geared for growth which will support the development of customer-specific solutions.
The application potential for service robots has been deemed significant for years, however market developments still lag far behind expectations. This is due to the unique nature of the service robotics business. Here, robot solutions are developed for medium quantities and usually at very high costs. At the same time, they are to be offered on the market for several customers. Service robotics is thus more of a product business than a project business. On the other hand, service robotics providers are more likely to be compared to system integrators than to robot manufacturers in traditional industrial robotics. The associated technical and financial risks are very hard for the typical start-ups often working in this field to manage on their own.
The [Se]rvice [Ro]bot [Net]work (SeRoNet) sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) aims to develop an open platform geared for growth which will support the development of customer-specific solutions. Here, the previous value chain is to be replaced by a value network in which manufacturers, system integrators and end users are interconnected and cooperate in the development and operation of service robotics systems, sharing the various tasks.
This reduces the development effort for customer-specific solutions by at least 50 percent. It is not only end users and system integrators, but also operating companies and above all small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) without existing sales networks that can benefit from the platform. This enables them to open up new markets, for example.
You can find further information about the project here.