Hardware technology

KELO mobile robots hardware technology is inspired by the platform concept—first pioneered in the automotive industry in the 1990s. This innovative approach allows us to:

  • Design versatile mobile robots using a modular system of reusable, easily configurable, and customizable components.
  • Rapidly adapt to customer-specific needs with cost-effective.

Our advanced hardware technology includes:

KELO drives

  • Gearless hub wheels combined with caster wheel suspension
  • Omnidirectional and inherently safe
  • Compliant with external forces
  • Available in various sizes and payloads

Check technical details.

KELO hardware technology KELO drives

Haptic interface allows intuitive interaction and enables user to take over control.

Charging station enables robot to charge automatically without human intervention.

Dock & tow mechanism enables robot to automatically dock to carts and dollies and tow them away.

Lift & carry mechanism enables robot to drive under pallets and carts, lift and carry them away.

Our products

We have implemented the platform concept in a number of off-the-shelve robots. We use similar or identical component across different models of mobile robots each serving a specific task. The robots themselves can be easily scaled and adapted to the needs of customers in terms of payload,
vehicle geometry, or design.

Our robots can operate in two modes: They can either operate fully autonomously or interactively support human workers in accomplishing their tasks.

  • They operate autonomously and transport loads as long as there is no interaction with a human worker.
  • When they approach a human or an obstacle they reduce their speed AND their kinetic energy and then keep moving at a kinetic energy level, which cannot cause any harm or damage.
  • When a contact is established by a human worker for example by grasping a haptic interface the robots go in an interactive operation mode. In this mode they can be arbitrarily pushed back or moved around with a minimal amount of force.
  • On the press of a button they go back into autonomous mode and continue executing their task.
KELO products

...safer,

Our robots are inherently safe. Inherent safety means that our robots can be pushed back or aside if they get into a human's way or approach the human in an undesired way. Humans and robot can safely move side-by-side even in narrow space. This property will be indispensable for future generations of mobile service robots, which shall operate in close proximity to humans. The robots inherit this property from our KELO drives. Our drives do not have gearboxes and can be stopped and pushed back, even when they are actuated. The drives have a Caster-wheel suspension like the wheels of a shopping cart. These two properties together make our robots inherently safe. Their use will increase the safety in your facility and decrease the number of accidents.

...greener,

Our robots have a payload to weight ratio of 5:1, while comparable robots have typically a ratio of around 2:1 or even less. This means that our robots consume significantly less power since they have to move much less total weight at the same payload. Furthermore, our robots are omni-directional. They can move almost instantly in any direction and in any orientation. They can navigate more efficiently, which increase throughput and reduces time and energy consumption.

...customizable,

Our robots can be customized to a customer’s need very quickly. We have adopted a design concept, which was initially developed in the automotive industry: the platform concept. Our robots are built of a construction kit of modular, quasi standardized components. The modularity of our components together with the high configurability of our KELO drives enables us to (re-)design our robots according to a customer’s needs with limited effort and in a short period of time. Furthermore, using the same components in different robot models facilitates economy of scale and reduces cost both in development and in series production.

...more efficient!

Our robots are collaborative. They can interact with human workers and support them in the execution of their task. It is a meanwhile widely adopted insight that full automation in many industrial contexts is a dead end and that teams consisting of humans and robots can reduce idle times and increase efficiency to a significant extent. (see white paper World Economic Forum 2020). A prerequisite is that humans and robots can interact smoothly and intuitively. Our robots have this ability. As a matter of fact our robots can improve the efficiency of your operations by 40% or more.

...safer,

Our robots are inherently safe. They can be pushed back or aside if they get into a human's way or approach the human in an undesired way. Humans and robot can safely move side-by-side even in narrow space. This property will be indispensable for future generations of mobile service robots, which shall operate in close proximity to humans. The robots inherit this property from our KELO drives. Our drives do not have gearboxes and can be stopped and pushed back, even when they are actuated. The drives have a Caster-wheel suspension like the wheels of a shopping cart. These two properties together make our robots inherently safe. Their use will increase the safety in your facility and decrease the number of accidents.

...greener,

Our robots have a payload to weight ratio of 5:1, while comparable robots have typically a ratio of around 2:1 or even less. This means that our robots consume significantly less power since they have to move much less total weight at the same payload. Furthermore, our robots are omni-directional. They can move almost instantly in any direction and in any orientation. They can navigate more efficiently, which increase throughput and reduces time and energy consumption.

...customizable,

Our robots can be customized to a customer’s need very quickly. We have adopted a design concept, which was initially developed in the automotive industry: the platform concept. Our robots are built of a construction kit of modular, quasi standardized components. The modularity of our components together with the high configurability of our KELO drives enables us to (re-)design our robots according to a customer’s needs with limited effort and in a short period of time. Furthermore, using the same components in different robot models facilitates economy of scale and reduces cost both in development and in series production.

...more efficient!

Our robots are collaborative. They can interact with human workers and support them in the execution of their task. It is a meanwhile widely adopted insight that full automation in many industrial contexts is a dead end and that teams consisting of humans and robots can reduce idle times and increase efficiency to a significant extent. (see white paper World Economic Forum 2020). A prerequisite is that humans and robots can interact smoothly and intuitively. Our robots have this ability. As a matter of fact our robots can improve the efficiency of your operations by 40% or more.

...safer,

Our robots are inherently safe. They can be pushed back or aside if they get into a human's way or approach the human in an undesired way. Humans and robot can safely move side-by-side even in narrow space. This property will be indispensable for future generations of mobile service robots, which shall operate in close proximity to humans. The robots inherit this property from our KELO drives. Our drives do not have gearboxes and can be stopped and pushed back, even when they are actuated. The drives have a Caster-wheel suspension like the wheels of a shopping cart. These two properties together make our robots inherently safe. Their use will increase the safety in your facility and decrease the number of accidents.

...greener,

Our robots have a payload to weight ratio of 5:1, while comparable robots have typically a ratio of around 2:1 or even less. This means that our robots consume significantly less power since they have to move much less total weight at the same payload. Furthermore, our robots are omni-directional. They can move almost instantly in any direction and in any orientation. They can navigate more efficiently, which increase throughput and reduces time and energy consumption.

...customizable,

Our robots can be customized to a customer’s need very quickly. We have adopted a design concept, which was initially developed in the automotive industry: the platform concept. Our robots are built of a construction kit of modular, quasi standardized components. The modularity of our components together with the high configurability of our KELO drives enables us to (re-)design our robots according to a customer’s needs with limited effort and in a short period of time. Furthermore, using the same components in different robot models facilitates economy of scale and reduces cost both in development and in series production.

...more efficient!

Our robots are collaborative. They can interact with workers and support them in the execution of their task. It is a meanwhile widely adopted insight that full automation in many industrial contexts is a dead end and that teams consisting of humans and robots can reduce idle times and increase efficiency to a significant extent. (see white paper World Economic Forum 2020). A prerequisite is that humans and robots can interact smoothly and intuitively. Our robots have this ability. As a matter of fact our robots can improve the efficiency of your operations by 40% or more.

...safer,

Our robots are inherently safe. They can be pushed back or aside if they get into a human's way or approach the human in an undesired way. Humans and robot can safely move side-by-side even in narrow space. This property will be indispensable for future generations of mobile service robots, which shall operate in close proximity to humans. The robots inherit this property from our KELO drives. Our drives do not have gearboxes and can be stopped and pushed back, even when they are actuated. The drives have a Caster-wheel suspension like the wheels of a shopping cart. These two properties together make our robots inherently safe. Their use will increase the safety in your facility and decrease the number of accidents.

...greener,

Our robots have a payload to weight ratio of 5:1, while comparable robots have typically a ratio of around 2:1 or even less. This means that our robots consume significantly less power since they have to move much less total weight at the same payload. Furthermore, our robots are omni-directional. They can move almost instantly in any direction and in any orientation. They can navigate more efficiently, which increase throughput and reduces time and energy consumption.

...customizable,

Our robots can be customized to a customer’s need very quickly. We have adopted a design concept, which was initially developed in the automotive industry: the platform concept. Our robots are built of a construction kit of modular, quasi standardized components. The modularity of our components together with the high configurability of our KELO drives enables us to (re-)design our robots according to a customer’s needs with limited effort and in a short period of time. Furthermore, using the same components in different robot models facilitates economy of scale and reduces cost both in development and in series production.

...more efficient!

Our robots are collaborative. They can interact with workers and support them in the execution of their task. It is a meanwhile widely adopted insight that full automation in many industrial contexts is a dead end and that teams consisting of humans and robots can reduce idle times and increase efficiency to a significant extent. (see white paper World Economic Forum 2020). A prerequisite is that humans and robots can interact smoothly and intuitively. Our robots have this ability. As a matter of fact our robots can improve the efficiency of your operations by 40% or more.

...cheaper,

Our robots come at a fraction of the price of comparable robots. To achieve this cost reduction, we have transferred the platform concept, which was developed in automotive industry and has led to significant cost savings there, into the design of mobile service robots. Our robots are built off a set of re-usable functional modules. Using the same components in different robot models facilitates economy of scale and reduces cost both in development and in series production …

greener,

Our robots have a payload to weight ratio of 9:1, while comparable robots have typically a ratio of around 3:1 or even less. This means that our robots consume significantly less power since they have to move much less total weight at the same payload. Furthermore, our robots are omni-directional. They can move almost instantly in any direction and in any orientation. They can navigate more efficiently, which increase throughput and reduces time and energy consumption…

safer!

Our robots are inherently safe. Inherent safety means that our robots can be pushed back or aside if they get into a human's way or approach the human in an undesired way. Humans and robot can safely move side-by-side even in narrow space. This property will be indispensable for future generations of mobile service robots, which shall operate in close proximity to humans. The robots inherit this property from our KELO drives. Our drives do not have gearboxes and can be pushed back, even when they are actuated. The drives have a Caster-wheel suspension like the wheels of a shopping cart. These two properties together make our robots inherently safe

...cheaper,

Our robots come at a fraction of the price of comparable robots. To achieve this cost reduction, we have transferred the platform concept, which was developed in automotive industry and has led to significant cost savings there, into the design of mobile service robots. Our robots are built off a set of re-usable functional modules. Using the same components in different robot models facilitates economy of scale and reduces cost both in development and in series production …

greener,

Our robots have a payload to weight ratio of 9:1, while comparable robots have typically a ratio of around 3:1 or even less. This means that our robots consume significantly less power since they have to move much less total weight at the same payload. Furthermore, our robots are omni-directional. They can move almost instantly in any direction and in any orientation. They can navigate more efficiently, which increase throughput and reduces time and energy consumption…

safer!

Our robots are inherently safe. Inherent safety means that our robots can be pushed back or aside if they get into a human's way or approach the human in an undesired way. Humans and robot can safely move side-by-side even in narrow space. This property will be indispensable for future generations of mobile service robots, which shall operate in close proximity to humans. The robots inherit this property from our KELO drives. Our drives do not have gearboxes and can be pushed back, even when they are actuated. The drives have a Caster-wheel suspension like the wheels of a shopping cart. These two properties together make our robots inherently safe

...cheaper,

Our robots come at a fraction of the price of comparable robots. To achieve this cost reduction, we have transferred the platform concept, which was developed in automotive industry and has led to significant cost savings there, into the design of mobile service robots. Our robots are built off a set of re-usable functional modules. Using the same components in different robot models facilitates economy of scale and reduces cost both in development and in series production.

greener,

Our robots have a payload to weight ratio of 9:1, while comparable robots have typically a ratio of around 3:1 or even less. This means that our robots consume significantly less power since they have to move much less total weight at the same payload. Furthermore, our robots are omni-directional. They can move almost instantly in any direction and in any orientation. They can navigate more efficiently, which increases throughput and reduces time and energy consumption.

safer!

Our robots are inherently safe. Inherent safety means that our robots can be pushed back or aside if they get into a human's way or approach the human in an undesired way. Humans and robot can safely move side-by-side even in narrow space. This property will be indispensable for future generations of mobile service robots, which shall operate in close proximity to humans. The robots inherit this property from our KELO drives. Our drives do not have gearboxes and can be pushed back, even when they are actuated. The drives have a Caster-wheel suspension like the wheels of a shopping cart. These two properties together make our robots inherently safe.