ANT navigation technology and engineering services for AGVs, automated forklifts and mobile robots.
BlueBotics SA
St-Sulpice (CH)New on Amplifa
About BlueBotics
BlueBotics SA is a Swiss company founded in 2001 as a spin-off of EPFL (Lausanne), headquartered in St-Sulpice and part of the Zapi Group since 2022. The company develops and produces the ANT (Autonomous Navigation Technology) autonomous navigation technology for automated guided vehicles (AGVs), automated forklifts, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and service robots. The contour navigation (Natural Feature Navigation) uses the vehicle's safety laser scanners and odometry, achieving an accuracy of ±1 cm / ±1° with minimal infrastructure changes. The portfolio includes ANT lite+, ANT localization, ANT localization+, ANT locator, the configuration software ANT lab and the fleet manager ANT server (fleets of up to 300 vehicles, incl. VDA-5050 support) as well as the AMR platforms mini™ and mini™ lite. Over 7,000 ANT vehicles are in operation and more than 150 vehicle types have been automated. Customers come from intralogistics, the automotive and semiconductor industries, healthcare, food production and airport logistics. The products are developed and manufactured in Switzerland.
- Site
- CH-1025 St-Sulpice
- Processes
- Mission & fleet management (ANT server, fleets of up to 300 vehicles), Autonomous Navigation Technology (ANT): ANT lite+, ANT localization, ANT localization+, ANT locator, ANT lab (configuration software), ANT server (mission & fleet management incl. VDA 5050), ANT everywhere (outdoor/GNSS), Engineering Services (feasibility, prototyping, launch), Mobile robotics platforms mini™ and mini™ lite, Integration support incl. on-site assistance
- Materials
- ANT lite+ – Positioning & Control, ANT localization – Positioning system, ANT localization+ – Positioning with line-following simulation, ANT locator – Tracking solution, ANT lab – Configuration software, ANT server – Fleet management software, ANT everywhere – Outdoor extension, mini™ – AMR platform for cleanrooms
- Certificates
- CE certification (products), FCC certification (products), ISO 9001
- Founded
- 2001
- Industries
- Material Handling / Intralogistics, Automotive industry, Semiconductor manufacturing, Healthcare / Hospital logistics, Cleaning / Facility services, Airport logistics
- 01
Discovery & Feasibility (requirement definition, feasibility, costs)
- 02
Prototyping (vehicle development, mechatronics, system design)
- 03
Integration of ANT navigation incl. on-site support
- 04
Configuration with ANT lab (mapping, routes, actions)
- 05
Fleet & mission management with ANT server
- 06
Launch support during the first customer installation
Technology & Products
ANT lite+ – Positioning & Control
Complete natural feature navigation solution for AGVs, automated forklifts and AMRs; with ANT server also fleet management for up to 300 vehicles.
ANT localization – Positioning system
Delivers vehicle coordinates directly to the PLC; suitable for vehicle manufacturers with their own control system as well as tracking of manual vehicles.
ANT localization+ – Positioning with line-following simulation
Enables the retrofitting of physically line-following AGVs to virtual line guidance via contour navigation.
ANT locator – Tracking solution
Precise tracking of manual forklifts and their loads in the material flow.
ANT lab – Configuration software
Vehicle and mission configuration including mapping, calibration, route and action definition; included with every ANT product.
ANT server – Fleet management software
Mission and fleet management incl. simulation, traffic control and interfaces to WMS/MES/ERP; supports VDA 5050.
ANT everywhere – Outdoor extension
Extension of the ANT navigation systems for use in outdoor environments.
mini™ – AMR platform for cleanrooms
Compact, low-particle AMR platform (70 kg, 150 kg payload) for cleanrooms, laboratories and light material handling.
mini™ lite – AMR platform
Flexible, ANT-controlled AMR platform (100 kg payload) for light material handling, cobot integration and special applications.
Site
St-Sulpice
CHHeadquarters, development & production
- mini™ lite AMR platform
- mini™ AMR platform (cleanroom)
- ANT lite+ positioning & control system
- ANT server fleet management software
ANT-controlled Vehicles
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Engineering | ±1 cm / ±1° | – | – | – | – |
| Mission & fleet management (ANT server, fleets of up to 300 vehicles)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
5 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMR platform (autonomous mobile robot) | BlueBotics mini™ lite | – | – | – | – |
| AMR platform for cleanrooms (cleanroom-suitable, low particle emission) | BlueBotics mini™ | – | – | – | – |
| ANT lite+ positioning & control system | BlueBotics ANT lite+ | – | – | – | – |
| ANT localization+ positioning system with line-following simulation | BlueBotics ANT localization+ | – | – | – | – |
| ANT localization positioning system | BlueBotics ANT localization | – | – | – | – |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality & Certification
All BlueBotics products are CE and FCC certified. Integration is accompanied by an IntegrationPackage with on-site support up to the first commissioning at the end customer.
| Evidence | St-Sulpice |
|---|---|
| CE certification (products) | |
| FCC certification (products) | |
| ISO 9001 |
History
- 2001
Founded as a spin-off of EPFL (Lausanne)
- 2002
Participation in the Swiss national exhibition with 11 RoboX robot guides
- 2006
First AGV pilot project with Esatroll
- 2007
Development and construction of a robotic mobile coffee machine for Nespresso
- 2009
First ANT-controlled AGV (Esatroll Paquito) in 24/7 operation in food production
- 2012
Launch of ANT localization
- 2013
Launch of ANT lite
- 2014
100th ANT system; launch of ANT lite+ and ANT server; Oppent EVOcart, Cleanfix RA660 Navi, Stöcklin EagleANT
- 2016
Launch of ANT localization+
- 2017
500th ANT system
- 2018
1,000th ANT system; sales deal with Shanghai TONGPU (China)
- 2019
Sales deals with ALTECH (Japan) and Alumotion (Italy)
- 2020
2,000th ANT system; sales deal with MacPion (South Korea)
- 2021
20th anniversary; 3,000th ANT system; over 10 million km driven; top-3 market leader
- 2022
Acquisition by the Zapi Group; 4,000+ vehicles; office openings in China and the USA
- 2023
Launch of ANT everywhere; market study; first Prix BlueBotics; expansion of the China presence
- 2024
VDA-5050 support in ANT server; partnership with Pramac (X-ACT)
- 2025
Launch of ANT locator; collaboration with JBT (mōt.OS); partnership with Sumitomo NACCO