ABB Robotics has introduced OmniCore™, a cutting-edge automation platform that promises enhanced speed, precision, and sustainability to drive business growth. With a substantial investment exceeding $170 million, the OmniCore platform represents a significant advancement in robotics control architecture, integrating AI, sensor technology, cloud computing, and edge computing for the development of highly advanced and autonomous robotic applications.
Spearheaded by Sami Atiya, President of ABB’s Robotics & Discrete Automation Business Area, the launch of OmniCore signifies a strategic move towards greater flexibility, simplicity, and efficiency in response to global trends such as labor shortages and sustainability demands. The platform's innovative mechatronics, AI, and vision systems make ABB robots more accessible, capable, flexible, and mobile than ever before, setting a new standard in the company's 50-year history in robotics.
OmniCore boasts exceptional motion performance, ensuring robot path accuracy of less than 0.6mm and enabling multiple robots to operate at speeds of up to 1,600mm per second. This advancement creates new opportunities in precision applications like arc welding, mobile phone assembly, gluing, and laser cutting, while improving operational efficiency by up to 25% in speed and 20% in energy consumption compared to the previous controller.
The platform's scalable and modular control architecture offers a diverse range of functions, making it adaptable for various industries embracing automation, including biotechnology and construction. With an extensive suite of over 1,000 hardware and software features, customers can easily design, operate, maintain, and optimize their robotic operations, supported by advanced software functionalities like ABB's Absolute Accuracy and PickMaster® Twin, alongside hardware options such as external axis and vision systems.
Marc Segura, Division President of ABB Robotics, highlights OmniCore's unique ability to manage motion, sensors, and application equipment within a unified system, providing customers with endless possibilities for value creation. By consolidating ABB Robotics' hardware and software offerings under a single control platform, OmniCore opens up new avenues for innovation and efficiency, empowering industries to achieve breakthroughs and overcome future challenges.
As part of ABB Robotics' continuous innovation journey, OmniCore represents a milestone in the company's history of pioneering developments. From the introduction of the world's first microprocessor-controlled robot in 1974 to the acquisition of Sevensense in 2024 for AI-based navigation technology, ABB Robotics has consistently led the way in robotics innovation. OmniCore's phased rollout will see the replacement of the IRC5 controller by June 2026, with ABB committed to supporting existing IRC5 users with spare parts and services throughout the robot's lifecycle.
