An army of factory robots

Omron's artificial intelligence (AI) Automatic Transportation Mobile Robot at CEATEC.

Omron artificial intelligence (AI) Automatic Transportation Mobile Robot machines are designed to work together in factories.

The white robots, launched in January, gather data as they roam around, creating maps in their "brain" which they then use to independently navigate their environment.
All the controller has to do is set the robot's destination and it will navigate its own route. Laser sensors on all sides of the "body" allow the robot to detect unexpected objects -- a person, for example. Using those maps, it can reroute to the destination.
The robots can travel at 1.8 meters per second, and carry a maximum load of 130 kg -- although the greater the load the slower they travel.
And their application isn't limited to factories. At Incheon Airport in South Korea, a mobile robot has been serving customers drinks.