Pavlo Pikulin is the founder and CEO of Deus Robotics, which has developed an AI platform that connects and enhances the intelligence of warehouse robots from any manufacturer. The corporate also offers AI-powered robots that cover 90% of warehouse automation needs — and counting. With over 22 years of experience in AI and 6 years in robotics, Pavlo serves as an Expert on the Artificial Intelligence committee under Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation.
Are you able to share your journey in AI and robotics, and what inspired you to begin Deus Robotics?
All of it began with my dad, who’s all the time been a tech enthusiast. Even before I used to be born, he got me a pc — pretty rare in my hometown back in 1989.
After I was five, I wrote my first computer program. The concept of giving a task to a machine and watching it execute was absolutely fascinating to me.
At seven, I sold my first website for $20. Soon after, I began constructing and selling computers. By thirteen, I had written a program to bypass a captcha in a pc game, which later evolved into an automatic number-plate recognition system.
By fifteen, I used to be convinced that the longer term was all about robotics.
This realization set my path towards robotics and AI. Nevertheless, at that age, I didn’t have the means to begin my very own robotics company, so I took a little bit of a detour. At nineteen, I launched a game studio which grew into a worldwide company with 60 million users worldwide. By 2021, we had 700 employees, and a few of our games became the highest downloads of their genre within the US.
But robotics was all the time on my mind and in my heart. I’ve all the time believed the world can be higher if robots could handle all of the tough, mundane, or dangerous tasks. By late 2017, I had saved enough to finally bootstrap my very own robotics company and make that vision a reality.
It took me a yr to do all of the research in robotics I needed to begin. After that, I gathered a team of incredibly talented engineers and programmers — some old friends, others latest faces — and we launched Deus Robotics in early 2019. This past summer, Deus Robotics was shortlisted for Logistics UK’s Logistics Awards, Robotics & Automation Awards, and Supply Chain Excellence Awards USA.
What lessons did you carry over out of your 15 years within the gaming industry to robotics and AI?
Working on games has given me invaluable experience in lots of key areas, and it has been rewarding to see how these skills apply to robotics.
Virtual Worlds for Robotics
Virtual worlds are a game-changer in robotics, offering a quicker and more efficient method to test ideas without waiting months for a hardware prototype. As a substitute of spending time and resources on physical prototypes, you’ll be able to experiment in a virtual environment. Creating these virtual worlds is rather a lot like designing a game, where robots interact with their surroundings — that is where my game development experience really is useful.
Algorithm Transfer
After we were developing algorithms for robot path planning, as a team, we tapped into our experience from creating similar algorithms in games for character navigation. In our strategy games, a whole bunch of characters needed to navigate through cities with roads and buildings — identical to robots in our systems. This made transferring our path-planning expertise to robotics feel seamless and natural.
Complex Software and Analytics
Robots, very like games, are built on complex software. Developing a world-class game involves creating secure payment systems, social features like chat and groups, competitive elements, and an in depth virtual world with countless mechanics. Certainly one of our games had over 300 functional windows — greater than you’d find in most banking apps! Games also handle massive loads, with hundreds of thousands and even billions of users performing countless actions, and this experience provides invaluable insights for warehouse robotics.
One other crucial aspect is analytics. In games, we needed to quickly and efficiently analyze user actions, managing high volumes of information. The identical is true for robots, which constantly send vast amounts of information that need robust processing and evaluation systems. Moreover, creating AI agents in games to have interaction players is comparable to programming robots, as each involve crafting intelligent, responsive behavior.
Briefly, in case you can construct and manage a game development team, you’ve got what it takes to guide a robotics team as well.
How has your role within the Artificial Intelligence Committee under Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation influenced your work at Deus Robotics?
The Committee’s goal is to advise government authorities on AI, including robotics. I joined to supply expertise specifically in robotics and to seek the advice of on government requests. We’re also focused on education, regulations, and pilot AI projects in Ukraine.
Through my work with the Committee, Deus Robotics found a method to expand our passion for advancing robotics in Ukraine beyond just warehouse automation. This enables us to make a broader impact.
Could you explain the unique AI brain developed by Deus Robotics and the way it enhances the intelligence of warehouse robots?
Our robot control software, dubbed AI brain, includes key technologies:
1. On-Robot Systems:
- A system that collects and analyzes data from all of the robot’s sensors, helping it understand its surroundings, determine its location, and make decisions.
- A control system that manages all robot mechanisms, comparable to manipulators, motors, lidars, and cameras, to execute the robot’s decisions.
- A 3D recognition system that identifies obstacles using 3D cameras and a lidar recognition system that interprets what the LIDAR detects.
2. Centralized Management Platform:
- Our AI platform connects all robots via Wi-Fi, coordinating their actions and enabling centralized communication.
In warehouses, our centralized system is crucial. It prevents collisions by tracking each robot’s exact location in real-time, allowing them to maneuver quickly and safely.
This centralized system also integrates seamlessly with the warehouse management system, making it a key advantage and streamlining robot management.
Besides being connected, our robots are also getting smarter. Because of the adapters for various robots, our system can integrate robots from various manufacturers, enabling them to share information and coordinate tasks.
Previously, robots could only coordinate with other robots from the identical manufacturer. Now, they will exchange data and work together across different brands.
What sets Deus Robotics aside from other corporations within the warehouse automation industry?
Unlike other warehouse robotics corporations, we have developed the guts of what makes robots truly effective: their brain. Our AI-powered brain connects with robots from any manufacturer, including our own, turning even the only robots into smarter, more capable machines. This sort of interoperability is something special within the industry.
This is very essential because, typically, robots from different manufacturers don’t play well together. Each robotics provider only covers a small slice of automation needs, leaving warehouses to pick from too many options. Each provider also requires costly and time-consuming integration, making it hard to modify if you need to try something latest. Plus, when robots from different providers cannot connect or be centrally managed, it complicates operations and limits your ability to scale.
That is where we are available in. Our system makes it easy to bring as many robots as you wish under one roof, all managed through a single, user-friendly platform.
With our solution, you get:
-
All automation needs covered under one system.
-
A single integration for all current and future providers, eliminating repeated integration costs and allowing you to modify providers as needed.
-
A simple-to-use management system for all current and future robots.
-
AI-enhanced, smarter robots that work together seamlessly (what’s essential, our system can connect with humanoids, too).
-
Ongoing training and support for warehouse operators to make sure smooth operations.
And the most effective part? Our solution is actually all-in-one. We provide robots that tackle 90% of logistics tasks (and counting), paired with our AI platform that ties every little thing together. With our system, you’ll be able to easily connect robots from any provider, simplify your operations, and scale your automation like never before. This is especially essential as only 20% of warehouses are automated.
How does Lidar technology enhance the navigation capabilities of your AGVs in comparison with traditional methods?
When our robot spots a floor tag, it navigates with pinpoint accuracy — inside 1mm. But when the tag isn’t in view, accuracy can drop to around 20mm. That’s where LIDAR is available in, helping to maintain navigation precise even between markers.
LIDAR adds one other layer of data, which we mix with data from tags and gyroscopes. Each source gives us different insights with various accuracy. Our specialized system merges all these inputs to pinpoint the robot’s position with high precision. The more accurate the info, the higher the robot navigates, and precise positioning is essential to smooth and effective robot movement.
Could you describe the role and advantages of your Robot as a Service (RaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) models for businesses?
Buying robots requires significant capital investment, resulting in a payback period of 1 to 3 years. This also ties up the client’s operating funds and increases capital expenses.
RaaS (Robots as a Service) is a game-changer for businesses. It eliminates the necessity for capital investment, relying as a substitute on operational expenses. The payback begins in the primary month, due to the immediate boost in productivity. As a substitute of needing 2-5 times more people to attain the identical productivity, robots enhance the efficiency of existing staff—at a lower cost than hiring additional staff.
Plus, RaaS reduces risk. There’s no have to freeze investments, and expenses shift from CAPEX to OPEX.
What are the benefits of QR Code Navigation in AGVs, and the way does it compare to Lidar?
Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) follow fixed routes, navigating via floor tags as a substitute of LIDAR, and may’t deviate from their path. In contrast, our autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) use 3D LIDAR scans for flexible navigation without counting on floor markers.
In what ways do Deus Robotics’ solutions address the present challenges faced by warehouse logistics and the 3PL industry?
Currently, we provide an answer that transports goods from point A to point B, which is very appealing to achievement centers. Nevertheless, the necessity to move goods exists in any warehouse — whether it’s in manufacturing, healthcare, automotive, or retail. In the longer term, we plan to expand our product line to incorporate robots that may handle tasks like packing, loading and unloading trucks, unpacking, and picking. We’re already working closely with robot manufacturers to integrate their products into our lineup.
One other challenge we’re addressing to make warehouses more efficient is providing a unified system for managing robots — a single integration, management, and enhancement point. Our clients don’t have to cope with multiple robot platforms. They only have to integrate with us once and may then use any robots they select. While our current choice of robots is proscribed (now we have 15 models up to now), we’re consistently working to expand it.
What advancements do you foresee in the combination of AI and robotics in warehouse automation over the following 5-10 years?
Certainly one of the largest challenges we face is determining the most effective method to automate each warehouse. Despite the fact that warehouses perform similar tasks, they differ in the main points — like processes, staff, the sorts of goods they handle, and their goals. Some aim for max efficiency, others for cost-effectiveness. Planning the proper automation solution and establishing the most effective business processes takes quite a lot of effort and time from experts. I’m convinced that AI will soon help us design warehouse automation in only seconds, making the method much smoother and more efficient.
One other exciting development is the rise of specialised robots designed for specific tasks. While the primary robots were built for general use, as automation grows, we’ll see more robots tailored to unique needs. For instance, inventory robots are only starting to look since most warehouses only need one or two.
Humanoid robots are also on the horizon. These versatile robots will give you the chance to handle tasks very like humans, due to advances in AI.
AI can also be convalescing at helping individuals with their tasks, like smarter voice assistants that may offer guidance. Plus, AI can optimize warehouse operations by analyzing data and improving efficiency. With access to digital warehouse data, AI can quickly discover and fix issues, making every little thing run more easily.
the larger picture, AI may even improve how different warehouses work together, together with suppliers and logistics partners. This includes higher scheduling, moving goods efficiently, and predicting what will likely be needed next.
All in all, AI and robotics will not be just tools for automation — they’re the keys to unlocking a wiser, more connected future for warehouses and beyond.
