Franka Robotics Launches Franka AI Companion: Empowering Innovation in Robotics Research

Munich, 19 March 2024 - Franka Robotics, a pioneer in robotics technology with a human-like sense of touch, announces the launch of Franka AI Companion, a comprehensive tool designed to empower researchers in the field of robotics. With its cutting-edge capabilities in hardware and software integration, Franka AI Companion sets a new standard for efficiency and innovation in robotics research.

Compatible with a range of hardware devices such as various cameras and software components like NVIDIA Isaac Manipulator, Franka AI Companion offers seamless integration of GPU power with real-time robot control using NVIDIA Jetson Orin, eliminating the need for additional resources, and uses highly accurate NVIDIA AI Foundation Models e.g. for 6D pose estimation and tracking. These capabilities are being demonstrated with SICK in the robotics booth during NVIDIA GTC 2024, March 18-21 at the San Jose Convention Center, USA, where the AI Companion is combined with the latest generation of SICK Visionary camera modules and NVIDIA AI tools.

“At Franka Robotics, our mission is to empower researchers and developers with tools that enhance their capabilities and accelerate progress in the field of robotics. Franka AI Companion embodies this mission by providing a streamlined solution for their setup and execution needs, powered by NVIDIA Isaac Manipulator, which comprises highly performant foundational models and modular capabilities that run seamlessly on NVIDIA Jetson Orin, ultimately helping drive innovation forward,” says Lars Johannsmeier, Head of Robotics Learning at Franka Robotics.

Key benefits of Franka AI Companion include:

• Integration of NVIDIA GPU-accelerated computing with real-time control: connecting NVIDIA AI Foundation Models with real-time robot control on the same platform enhances efficiency and helps enable advanced applications.  
• Simplified research setup: Ease of creation, management, and switching between research setups using a sandboxed development environment seamlessly integrates with docker containers.
• Application setup sharing: Quick transfer of application setups within the same lab or sharing them with other institutions, fosters collaboration and accelerating research progress.
• Extended capabilities: out-of-the-box compatibility with an expanding array of popular hardware devices and software components ensures flexibility and adaptability to evolving research needs.

Franka AI Companion joins a growing ecosystem of integrations offered by Franka Robotics, complementing offerings such as Franka MATLAB Toolbox and Franka ROS 2. These synergies empower users to leverage the robust data acquisition and real-time control capabilities of Franka robots to their fullest extent.

With a plethora of use cases, including quick switching between incompatible software stacks, rapid evaluation of multiple ML models, object detection with real-time visual servoing, and attachment of experimental-related software to papers for review, Franka AI Companion is set to transform the landscape of robotics research.

For more information about Franka AI Companion and its capabilities, visit: Franka AI Companion

About Franka Robotics

Founded in 2016, Franka is a robotics platform company based in Munich with manufacturing facilities in Bavaria. The Franka robot platform is extensively used in research and beyond, due to its unique control interface, human-like sense of touch technology, and large community of robotics and AI researchers and disruptors.