Download PDF
Case Studies > Brain Corp: Leveraging Google Cloud for Next-Gen Robotic Automation

Brain Corp: Leveraging Google Cloud for Next-Gen Robotic Automation

Technology Category
  • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Storage Services
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
Applicable Industries
  • Consumer Goods
  • Retail
Applicable Functions
  • Product Research & Development
  • Warehouse & Inventory Management
Use Cases
  • Autonomous Robots
  • Retail Store Automation
Services
  • Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
The Challenge

Brain Corp, an AI software leader, powers the world's largest fleet of autonomous mobile robots operating in commercial indoor public spaces. The company's technologies power more than 26,000 autonomous robots, including the world's largest fleet of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) operating in public spaces. These AMRs are used by leading retailers as well as airports, malls, warehouses, hospitals, offices, and schools, and include floor scrubbers, vacuums, and inventory scanners. However, these AMRs face dynamic challenges, such as people intentionally or unintentionally obstructing their paths. To maximize ROI, Brain Corp focuses on AI and ML software development. However, the company faced challenges in terms of scalability, safety, security, and data privacy. The company needed a cloud platform that could scale to store, process, and secure all the data generated by the robots in real time.

About The Customer

Brain Corp was founded in 2009 and is based in San Diego, CA. The company is an AI software leader that powers the world's largest fleet of autonomous mobile robots operating in commercial indoor public spaces. Brain Corp's technologies currently power more than 26,000 autonomous robots, including the world's largest fleet of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) operating in public spaces. These AMRs are used by leading retailers as well as airports, malls, warehouses, hospitals, offices, and schools, and include floor scrubbers, vacuums, and inventory scanners. The company focuses on AI and ML software development and provides its hybrid-cloud BrainOS AI software platform to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), who use the platform to enable their new or existing machines to run autonomously.

The Solution

Brain Corp decided to migrate its platform and engage Google Cloud as its innovation partner. The company redesigned its AI platform's monolithic architecture to a modern microservices design, using 28 Google Cloud services. This included Google Kubernetes Engine Autopilot, Google Cloud Storage, Google Pub/Sub, Google BigQuery, Google Cloud Firestore, Google Dataflow, Google Cloud Logging, Google Cloud Identity Platform and Google Identity-Aware Proxy services. The redesigned BrainOS Cloud platform now communicates with robots in real time rather than syncing data every 60 seconds. This enabled Brain Corp to develop a mobile app that gives customers anytime, anywhere information about their robots. The company also developed more sophisticated AMR insights such as an instant alert if a robot runs out of power, along with a map that depicts the robot's location.

Operational Impact

  • The migration to Google Cloud has resulted in significant operational improvements for Brain Corp. The company was able to migrate thousands of robots across the globe to Google Cloud in a way that ensured the robots didn’t exhibit any change to the customers. The migration process was expedited so that thousands of robots were updated to run on Google Cloud in just three weeks. The use of cloud automation and a microservices-based platform design has reduced the time spent on infrastructure management and software updates. The consolidation of robotic and business data in Google Cloud has enabled Brain Corp to offer new services, insights, and improved customer experiences. The company is also developing a virtual tour service that enables managers to visually walk through an entire store without having to travel.

Quantitative Benefit

  • Enables robotic communication in real time vs. every 60 seconds

  • Cuts robots' yearly infrastructure costs by 60%

  • Deploys software updates 6x faster

Related Case Studies.

Case Study
Improving Production Line Efficiency with Ethernet Micro RTU Controller
Moxa was asked to provide a connectivity solution for one of the world's leading cosmetics companies. This multinational corporation, with retail presence in 130 countries, 23 global braches, and over 66,000 employees, sought to improve the efficiency of their production process by migrating from manual monitoring to an automatic productivity monitoring system. The production line was being monitored by ABB Real-TPI, a factory information system that offers data collection and analysis to improve plant efficiency. Due to software limitations, the customer needed an OPC server and a corresponding I/O solution to collect data from additional sensor devices for the Real-TPI system. The goal is to enable the factory information system to more thoroughly collect data from every corner of the production line. This will improve its ability to measure Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and translate into increased production efficiencies. System Requirements • Instant status updates while still consuming minimal bandwidth to relieve strain on limited factory networks • Interoperable with ABB Real-TPI • Small form factor appropriate for deployment where space is scarce • Remote software management and configuration to simplify operations
Learn more
Case Study
How Sirqul’s IoT Platform is Crafting Carrefour’s New In-Store Experiences
Carrefour Taiwan’s goal is to be completely digital by end of 2018. Out-dated manual methods for analysis and assumptions limited Carrefour’s ability to change the customer experience and were void of real-time decision-making capabilities. Rather than relying solely on sales data, assumptions, and disparate systems, Carrefour Taiwan’s CEO led an initiative to find a connected IoT solution that could give the team the ability to make real-time changes and more informed decisions. Prior to implementing, Carrefour struggled to address their conversion rates and did not have the proper insights into the customer decision-making process nor how to make an immediate impact without losing customer confidence.
Learn more
© 2015-2024 IoT ONE Limited | Privacy Policy

Contact us

Let's talk!

* Required
* Required
* Required
* Invalid email address
By submitting this form, you agree that IoT ONE may contact you with insights and marketing messaging.
No thanks, I don't want to receive any marketing emails from IoT ONE.
Submit

Thank you for your message!
We will contact you soon.