Meet Flowbotic

Flowbotic aims to develop and manufacture the most advanced, reliable, and user-friendly autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) on the market, particularly for the automotive and logistics sectors. 

We spoke with Ricardo Patrício, Commercial Director at Flowbotic, with whom INESC TEC has recently collaborated within the scope of the mobilising agendas PRODUTECH R3 and GreenAuto. 

How did the collaboration between Flowbotic and INESC TEC within the PRODUTECH R3 and GreenAuto agendas begin? 

The collaboration between Flowbotic and INESC TEC began even before the current initiatives framed within the mobilising agendas PRODUTECH R3 and GreenAuto, during the initial development phase of Flowbotic’s first AMR. At that stage, we identified the strategic need to have an academic partner to fill certain gaps, both in terms of our team’s size (which was still being established) and in specific mobile robotics tech areas. INESC TEC stood out for the advanced research in navigation, computer vision, and distributed control, with solutions of a high technology readiness level (TRL) and direct applicability in real-world environments, which motivated the first contacts. This relationship was later reinforced and formalised within the scope of the mobilising agendas, enabling the combination of Flowbotic’s applied engineering capability with INESC TEC’s scientific – yet practical – expertise. 

What are the main results of this collaboration? 

The collaboration has led to advances in the development of intelligent mobile robotic systems. For example, in the joint development of a fully autonomous forklift AMR designed to operate in areas of high physical and operational complexity, namely truck loading and unloading. It is an AMR that integrates several cutting-edge technologies, such as 3D camera navigation, intelligent pallet detection using computer vision, and integration with production management systems. We also developed a teleoperation solution featuring augmented reality and transmission over 5G networks, ensuring safe remote operation; it’s also worth mentioning the load planning systems with stability validation, as well as fleet management algorithms with multi-robot coordination. We have the prototype developed and assembled, and we are about to begin testing it in a real environment. 

How has the collaboration contributed to Flowbotic’s technological and strategic development? 

Concerning technological aspects, it has accelerated the development of highly differentiated autonomous robotics solutions, in particular our fully autonomous forklift AMR, consolidating internal expertise in advanced navigation, computer vision, embedded software, and integration with complex industrial systems. This partnership has also contributed to refining our approach to scalable solutions designed for real manufacturing environments. 

From a strategic perspective, working with a national reference entity in applied research such as INESC TEC (with strong connection to industry) has brought not only technical credibility but also greater visibility within the ecosystem. Some of these collaborations are already extending to concrete industrial contexts, where we test and validate technologies in real scenarios. 

Moreover, we believe this relationship has been mutually beneficial, as Flowbotic already has several dozen AMRs deployed in demanding industries like the automotive – allowing us to contribute with case studies featuring challenging requirements for solution development, helping to bring research closer to practical applications with direct impact in the field. 

What do you value in your experience with INESC TEC? 

Flowbotic perceives this collaboration as a catalyst for applied innovation of technologies with an intermediate TRL, which can help differentiate our AMRs in the medium term. Consequently, they can also have a direct impact on the competitiveness of Portuguese industry. We value collaboration, co-development, and knowledge sharing in cutting-edge areas such as robust localisation, 3D vision and navigation, cybersecurity, 5G networks, and more. 

What can we expect from this collaboration in the coming years? 

We seek to continue this strategic partnership with INESC TEC, with a strong focus on developing technologies with an intermediate TRL – yet essential to keeping Flowbotic at the forefront of intelligent mobile robotics. 

This collaboration with INESC TEC enables Flowbotic to anticipate industry needs in the medium and long term, exploring areas like  3D navigation, AI applied to autonomous decision-making, and advanced fleet coordination algorithms. 

To strengthen this partnership, we foresee joint participation in new national and European projects, aiming to scale our technologies to other industrial sectors and different geographies.