How robots are bringing warehouses to life – a look behind the scenes at arculus
From the initial idea to the ready-to-use robot in the warehouse: our subsidiary arculus develops award-winning mobile robots such as the arculee M. But what is behind the development of this innovative technology? A look at the development process.
Our subsidiary arculus is developing future-ready mobile robots, including the arculee M – winner of the prestigious Red Dot Design Award. But before an arculee M can operate fully autonomously in a warehouse, the team must go through an exciting journey filled with ideas, testing, and technical expertise.
From concept to reality: How the arculee M is made
The development process begins at arculus in Munich. Here, an interdisciplinary team of engineers, designers and software developers work together to understand the challenges of material handling and develop tailored solutions. Their goal: to build robots that are not only smart and efficient, but also flexible enough to adapt to a wide variety of warehouse environments.
Once the technical concept is finalised, the first prototype is built. This stage involves a great deal of experimentation: design, functionality and assembly are continuously refined – always drawing on the knowledge gained from previous projects. An experienced team then takes over the pre-assembly of core modules such as the control unit, drive system and chassis. The prototype is then tested under real-world conditions – following the principle of test, optimise, test again. Thanks to its modular design, the arculee M can be flexibly configured – a crucial advantage both during production and later in use at the customer’s site.
Speaking of customers: in some cases, the robot is deployed before its official market launch. This direct feedback from live operations helps identify and address potential weaknesses early on – a key aspect of the development philosophy. As a result, arculus does not simply create a product, but a tailor-made automation solution with real added value for the customers and their warehouse logistics.
Want more insights?
In this video, we show you how state-of-the-art mobile robots are created at arculus – from the initial idea to their deployment in the warehouse.
