Industrial robots are already at work in places such as factories and warehouses, but programming and coordinating them can remain difficult. Alphabet’s Intrinsic is addressing that challenge with Flowstate, a beta platform intended to help people without robotics expertise build workflows for robotic systems.
A visual way to build robot workflows
Flowstate is designed as a solution builder: users can arrange skills into workflows, then design, build and deploy those workflows. At its center is a graphical tree that connects individual capabilities into more complex sequences.
The platform’s existing skills include pose estimation, manipulation, force-based insertion and path planning. These capabilities are meant to make it easier to assemble robot applications without developing every component from scratch.
Intrinsic also plans to let third-party developers create skills for integration into Flowstate. That approach could broaden the platform’s library over time and give developers a way to contribute capabilities to a shared ecosystem.
Simulation is part of the development process
Flowstate also incorporates simulation, letting users run scenarios in a virtual environment to help assess how a deployment may behave in the real world. Simulation is a key part of the platform’s approach to developing robotics applications.
The system uses Gazebo, an open-source platform stewarded by Open Robotics. Open Robotics also managed the Robot Operating System, or ROS. Intrinsic acquired the connected for-profit arm, Open Source Robotics Corporation, in December.
Brian Gerkey, Open Robotics’ CEO before joining Intrinsic as its director of Open Robotics, said the core engineering team that worked under OSRF is now at Intrinsic. He described Intrinsic as one participant in the ROS ecosystem and said the company is committed to supporting engineers who develop and contribute to the ROS community.
Intrinsic is concentrating on software and AI
Flowstate reflects Intrinsic’s decision to focus on software and artificial intelligence rather than some hardware-based projects. CEO Wendy Tan White said the company made specific layoffs as part of that shift and that a 40-person reduction did not majorly impact Intrinsic.
The company’s work also connects with other teams and acquisitions. Tan White said the Every Day Robotics team moved into what became Google Brain, which later merged with Google DeepMind. She said the integrated Google DeepMind team intends to help Intrinsic build more skills, including capabilities that might have been used with Every Day Robotics.
Intrinsic acquired Vicarious in April of last year. Tan White said around 80% of that team is still working for Intrinsic, and that its expertise in certain applications has been critical. Some applications represented in Flowstate’s skills are based on Vicarious Code.
A beta release for a broader robotics ecosystem
Flowstate is now available as a beta. Intrinsic said the platform received more than 100 signups in its first hour after launch, an early indication of interest in the offering.
The product brings workflow building, reusable robotic skills and simulation together in one development platform. Intrinsic’s stated direction also depends on a wider community: the company expects third-party skills to become part of Flowstate while continuing to contribute to the ROS ecosystem.