From industrial robots to avatar robots: TDK RoboKit1-DK development platform clears the way for the diversity of future robots

The robotics industry is developing rapidly, and new technologies are emerging one after another. TDK now offers the TDK RoboKit1-DK robot development platform, which is equipped with various sensors necessary for precise robot operation, helping to improve efficiency and performance in various robot developments.

Challenges faced by robot development in an environment of rapid technological advancement and growth

Society is increasingly demanding robots to ease labor shortages, increase productivity and improve daily life.

Robots can be divided into two categories: industrial robots, which work in factories far from humans, and service robots, which provide services close to humans. Due to the need to avoid human contact and to cope with the increase in logistics volume, the use of industrial robots (autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), automatic guided vehicles (AGVs), factory automation equipment, etc.) has increased dramatically, especially in the manufacturing sector. Therefore, manufacturing automation is a pressing issue for many companies.

At the same time, the market size of service robots is also continuing to expand, such as communication robots, drones, home appliances (e.g., cleaning robots), mobile agricultural robots, and disaster response robots. In addition, in recent years, "avatar" robots, a technology that appears in a remote location through a robot's body, have emerged. It is attracting attention as a form of infrastructure technology for smart cities and space exploration.

Robot Classification

The uses and classifications of robots are very wide, covering industrial robots, household robots and service robots. Robots are gradually becoming a part of our daily lives.

This explosive growth in demand has increased the speed and technical requirements of robot development, making it increasingly difficult for robot manufacturers to develop robots in-house. As a result, the idea of ​​reference designs has become increasingly strong. Reference designs are finished product examples containing components and drawings that are provided by semiconductor, other component and material manufacturers to application product producers such as robots. By utilizing reference designs, robot manufacturers can focus their development resources on their unique strengths, avoid being distracted by components and materials, and speed up development and reduce manpower.

While various manufacturers now offer robotics development kits based on reference designs, they often require sourcing multiple sensor and processor boards separately and then assembling them, making even a basic platform time-consuming and complex to create.

TDK RoboKit1-DK is a solution that integrates sensors, processors and actuators on a single circuit board

TDK RoboKit1-DK is a robotics development platform that addresses these issues and serves as an ideal reference design.

TDK RoboKit1-DK is a TDK original development kit that integrates all key products such as 6-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU), digital I²S microphone, capacitive air pressure sensor, ultrasonic time-of-flight (ToF) sensor, industrial IMU module, magnetometer and motor controller on a single printed circuit board (PCB). This robotic platform integrates sensors, processors and actuators on a single board, so there is no need to purchase multiple sensor and processor boards, allowing rapid prototyping and development of various robots.

TDK RoboKit1-DK supports ROS 1 and ROS 2 (Robot Operating System), the global open source software for robot development, making robot development more widely applicable. With a powerful set of interfaces and compatibility with multiple processors, TDK RoboKit1-DK not only facilitates the creation of industrial robots, but also facilitates the creation of next-generation robots, such as "avatar robots" that require the integration of a large number of high-performance sensors in their design and development.

TDK RoboKit1-DK Development Kit

Unlike traditional development boards, TDK RoboKit-DK1 uses ARM® Cortex®-M7, has multiple built-in interfaces, and is compatible with multiple processor platforms such as Raspberry Pi and ASUS Tinker development board.

TDK RoboKit1 Complete Robot Kit

In addition, we also provide a complete robot kit, which includes, in addition to the development board kit, a 3D printed robot housing with a socket for the ToF sensor, a chassis, an industrial IMU module (IIM-46230), and an ESP32 BLE module that supports Bluetooth connectivity.

RoboKit 1-DK accelerates development of industrial and service robots

Anson Yeganegi, Director of System Solutions at InvenSense (a TDK Group company), shared his thoughts on the future development of RoboKit1. "TDK RoboKit1-DK is a complete development kit that combines the hardware capabilities of high-performance sensors developed by the TDK Group with software and algorithm solutions for robotics. It will definitely accelerate the development of advanced robots, and a variety of new robots built using this platform will gradually emerge."

By leveraging the groundbreaking advantages of the TDK RoboKit1-DK, TDK is driving the development of industrial and service robots and is committed to contributing to the world of robotics that has the potential to change our future.

TDK RoboKit1-DK & TDK RoboKit1

TDK RoboKit1-DK integrates sensors, processors, and actuators on a single circuit board, making it an ideal platform for rapid prototyping and development of robots.