Founded in 1983, Adept was originally the West Coast Division of Unimation, which later became part of Westinghouse after being a division of Consolidated Diesel Electronic (Condec). However, its roots trace back nearly ten years earlier when founders Bruce Shimano and Brian Carlisle, both Stanford graduate students, collaborated with Victor Scheinman at Stanford's AI lab.[citation needed]
In 2000, Adept Technology acquired Pensar Tucson Inc.[4]
Today, the company is active in a variety of industries requiring high speed, precision part handling including food handling, consumer product and electronics, packaging, medical and lab automation, automotive, as well as emerging markets like solar manufacturing.[citation needed]
Robots
Autonomous Mobile Robot produced by Adept Technology
In 1984, the company introduced its first product, the AdeptOneSCARA robot.
Around 2004, Adept introduced table-top SCARA robots called the Adept Cobra i600/i800, with the system and servo controls, and the power amplifiers, embedded in the base of the robot. The related Adept Cobra s600/s800 models employ an external controller (with the servo controls and amplifiers still in the robot base) to achieve greater system functionality. These robots are claimed to be the fastest robots in their class.[citation needed]
In 2006, Adept released its new delta-4 robot, the Adept Quattro. It is based on a new concept (invented by French and Spanish researchers and described in the European patent EP 1 870 214 B1 ) of delta-style robot mechanism that has four arms versus the traditional three-arm design. The rotation is achieved through a parallel platform.[citation needed]
In 2010, Adept purchased MobileRobots Inc, maker of autonomous platforms and guidance software for research and industrial applications.[7] After purchase by Omron, these intelligent vehicles became the Omron Adept LD series.[8]
Adept also offers Adept Python linear-module robots with one to four axes in various configurations, and six-axis Adept Viperarticulated robots.[citation needed]
In 2014, Adept partnered with ROEQ and released the Adept Lynx LD autonomous mobile robot, calling it the "cart transporter".[9]
Vision software
Scott Roth of the West Coast Division of Unimation implemented an interface to the Machine Intelligence Corporation (MIC) vision system VS-100 in early 1981. It was a binary system using blob (connectivity) analysis. Unimation's first vision system was called Univision I for PUMA robots.[10]
When the West Coast Division of Unimation split off to become Adept Technology, Scott continued to develop the robot vision system under an agreement whereby Adept agreed to grant back software enhancements to Unimation over a period of 2 years. This agreement also applied to VAL, the robot programming language then used for the PUMA robots. Adept called the vision system AdeptVision. Scott was joined by Fred Andresen in 1984, who wrote some vision tools and AIM VisionWare, the GUI.
AdeptVision is probably the first commercially available robot vision system that achieved sales in the thousands of units. AdeptVision included many vision-related operations for image capture, enhancement, and analysis. It provided machine guidance with robot-vision calibration and supported on-line gauging and assembly verification. Provided functionality included rulers (line and arc), windows (rectangular, round, annulus, and pie-shaped regions of interest), feature finders (line and arc fitters), normalized grayscale correlation, blob analysis, processing tools (gradient or Sobel edge detection, thresholding, morphology, image subtraction, histogram, frame copy, pan & zoom, and convolutions), and feature-based recognition.[11] The rotation and scale invariant ObjectFinder was patented.[12]
The “ruler” created by Fred Andresen is an important metrology tool that locates edges along a line or arc with sub-pixel accuracy. The linear version operates in any orientation and is the basis of the line and arc fitters, providing high accuracy in grayscale images.
AdeptVision systems ranged from binary linescan for conveyor belts to binary and grayscale 2-D images. The system controllers evolved from the Q-bus to the Multibus to the VME bus. The first system consisted of the DEC LSI-11/23 CPU, EG&G Reticon line camera, camera interface board that included a run-length processor, a Peritek display processor board (512 x 512 x 1 bitmap), and a B&W display/terminal.
The various versions of the vision systems over time included AdeptVision I [256 x 241 x 1-bit binary], AdeptVision II [375 x 483 x 1-bit binary], AdeptVision ML [256 x 1-bit for moving line], -XGS [509 x 481 x 7-bit grayscale], -XGS II [509 x 481 x 7-bit grayscale], -AGS [512 x 484 x 8-bit grayscale], -AGS II, -AGS-GV [512 x 484 x 8-bit grayscale], -VME [640 x 480 or 1024 x 1024 x 7-bit grayscale], and -VXL. The AdeptVision XGS and AGS systems were particularly popular in Adept's early history, with 1000 AdeptVision AGS systems alone having been shipped as of January 25, 1993.
Hardware and software history
Adept has its own robot control operating system, V+, which has come to version 17.x by 2009. The history of V+ dates back to the days of Unimation. At the time it was called VAL (Victor's Assembly Language), which evolved into VAL-II and VAL-III later. After the formation of Adept, the rights to parts of the OS were granted to Adept by Unimation as described above.[citation needed].
The Adept OS at that time was called V, and it ran on the refrigerator-sized controllers that were based on the MultiBus technology. Around 1986 the Adept MC controller was introduced; while still based on the MultiBus, it was smaller than the original controller. After the Adept MC controller (around 1990), came the Adept MV controller, which was based on the VME backplane technology. Then around 2000 the SmartController CS/CX controllers were introduced, which are current production as of 2009.
Along with the changes of the controller itself, the servo controls also saw major improvements over the years. Around 200x, with the V+ version reaching ver.14, the servo amplifier and controls were part of the robot, and hence separated from the main robot controller itself. This is when distributed controls were introduced by the company. The idea of having the amplifier and servo controls in the base of the robot was named AIB (Amplifier in Base). Adept still follows the AIB mantra, and has an AIB in the latest robot, Adept Quattro, reducing the footprint of the robot/manipulator/controller system.
Controls
The Adept core business continues to be motion control. Its SmartController CX integrates motion controller, vision guidance, and interfaces to factory networks.
An industrial robot is a robot system used for manufacturing. Industrial robots are automated, programmable and capable of movement on three or more axes.
VMEbus is a computer bus standard physically based on Eurocard sizes.
VxWorks is a real-time operating system developed as proprietary software by Wind River Systems, a subsidiary of Aptiv. First released in 1987, VxWorks is designed for use in embedded systems requiring real-time, deterministic performance and in many cases, safety and security certification for industries such as aerospace, defense, medical devices, industrial equipment, robotics, energy, transportation, network infrastructure, automotive, and consumer electronics.
In mechanical and control engineering, a servomechanism is a control system for the position and its time derivatives, such as velocity, of a mechanical system. It often includes a servomotor, and uses closed-loop control to reduce steady-state error and improve dynamic response. In closed-loop control, error-sensing negative feedback is used to correct the action of the mechanism. In displacement-controlled applications, it usually includes a built-in encoder or other position feedback mechanism to ensure the output is achieving the desired effect. Following a specified motion trajectory is called servoing, where "servo" is used as a verb. The servo prefix originates from the Latin word servus meaning slave.
The Yaskawa Electric Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of servos, motion controllers, AC motor drives, switches and industrial robots. Their Motoman robots are heavy duty industrial robots used in welding, packaging, assembly, coating, cutting, material handling and general automation.
The PUMA is an industrial robotic arm developed by Victor Scheinman at pioneering robot company Unimation. Initially developed by Unimation for General Motors, the PUMA was based on earlier designs Scheinman invented while at Stanford University based on sponsorship and mentoring from robot inventor George Devol.
Automatix Inc., founded in January 1980, was the first company to market industrial robots with built-in machine vision. Its founders were Victor Scheinman, inventor of the Stanford arm; Phillippe Villers, Michael Cronin, and Arnold Reinhold of Computervision; Jake Dias and Dan Nigro of Data General; Gordon VanderBrug, of NBS, Donald L. Pieper of General Electric and Norman Wittels of Clark University.
FANUC is a Japanese group of companies that provide automation products and services such as robotics and computer numerical control wireless systems. These companies are principally FANUC Corporation of Japan, Fanuc America Corporation of Rochester Hills, Michigan, USA, and FANUC Europe Corporation S.A. of Luxembourg.
Omron Corporation, styled as OMRON, is a Japanese electronics company based in Kyoto, Japan. Omron was established by Kazuma Tateisi (立石一真) in 1933 and incorporated in 1948.
Joseph Frederick Engelberger was an American physicist, engineer and entrepreneur. Licensing the original patent awarded to inventor George Devol, Engelberger developed the first industrial robot in the United States, the Unimate, in the 1950s. Later, he worked as entrepreneur and vocal advocate of robotic technology beyond the manufacturing plant in a variety of fields, including service industries, health care, and space exploration.
Motion control is a sub-field of automation, encompassing the systems or sub-systems involved in moving parts of machines in a controlled manner. Motion control systems are extensively used in a variety of fields for automation purposes, including precision engineering, micromanufacturing, biotechnology, and nanotechnology. The main components involved typically include a motion controller, an energy amplifier, and one or more prime movers or actuators. Motion control may be open loop or closed loop. In open loop systems, the controller sends a command through the amplifier to the prime mover or actuator, and does not know if the desired motion was actually achieved. Typical systems include stepper motor or fan control. For tighter control with more precision, a measuring device may be added to the system. When the measurement is converted to a signal that is sent back to the controller, and the controller compensates for any error, it becomes a Closed loop System.
Victor David Scheinman was an American pioneer in the field of robotics. He was born in Augusta, Georgia, where his father Léonard was stationed with the US Army. At the end of the war, the family moved to Brooklyn and his father returned to work as a professor of psychiatry. His mother taught at a Hebrew school.
A servomotor is a rotary or linear actuator that allows for precise control of angular or linear position, velocity, and acceleration in a mechanical system. It constitutes part of a servomechanism, and consists of a suitable motor coupled to a sensor for position feedback. It also requires a relatively sophisticated controller, often a dedicated module designed specifically for use with servomotors.
The STEbus is a non-proprietary, processor-independent, computer bus with 8 data lines and 20 address lines. It was popular for industrial control systems in the late 1980s and early 1990s before the ubiquitous IBM PC dominated this market. STE stands for STandard Eurocard.
A servo drive is an electronic amplifier used to power electric servomechanisms.
Variable Assembly Language (VAL) is a computer-based control system and language designed specifically for use with Unimation Inc. industrial robots.
Datacube Inc. (1978–2005) was an image processing company that developed real-time hardware and software products for the industrial, medical, military and scientific markets. The Datacube enabled data to be modeled and viewed in multiple dimensions.
Visual servoing, also known as vision-based robot control and abbreviated VS, is a technique which uses feedback information extracted from a vision sensor to control the motion of a robot. One of the earliest papers that talks about visual servoing was from the SRI International Labs in 1979.
VAL may stand for:
ST Robotics is a company based in Cambridge, England, and Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The company designs and manufactures low-cost bench-top industrial robot arms and purpose built Cartesian robots. The company has no sales force and sells their robotic arm products mainly through the Internet as "boxed robots" with distributors around the world.
↑ Carlisle, Brian and Roth, Scott. The PUMA/VS-100 Robot Vision System, 1st International Conference on Robot Vision and Sensory Controls, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, April 1–3, 1981.
↑ Roth, Scott. New Vision System Recognizes Touching Parts, ROBOTS 8 Conference Proceedings (SME) 1984, pp. 14-1 to 14-12.]
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US$ 14.3 million (4Q 2014) [1] 
US$ -520,000 (4Q 2014) [1] 
