Robotic Workspace Technologies (RWT) Inc., a developer of PC-based robot controller technology, named a new president yesterday as it prepares for key product introductions and an expansion of its executive ranks and sales staff.
Named president was Neil Dueweke, a 20-year automation industry veteran who was formerly with such companies as FANUC Robotics and ABB. Dueweke will report to company founder Walter Weisel, who remains chairman and chief executive of the Fort Myers Beach, Florida-based company. RWT is a unit of Innova Holdings Inc.
RWT's flagship product, the Universal Robot Controller, sports an open-architecture, plug-and-play design that can be retrofitted into a variety of brands of robots, including those from FANUC Robotics, ABB Robotics, Yaskawa Motoman and Cincinnati Milacron. Working with RobotScript, RWT's robot programming language, users can build sophisticated programs for any robot that includes motion, coordinated I/O and servo control.
Universal control was a vision on which RWT founder Weisel wanted to deliver several years ago, but the concept of an open architecture was in a nascent state at that time. "What's happening now with the growth of Linux and other trends is that the possibilities for RWT are 100 fold more than they were eight years ago," said Dueweke, in an interview with Managing Automation.
Dick Slansky, an analyst at ARC Advisory Group, who has been briefed on RWT's business model, said RWT has found a legitimate niche in the robotics market. "The robot arm itself has a fairly long lifecycle, up to 20 years," Slansky said in an interview. "But the controller becomes obsolete much faster. Previously, when you went in to retrofit a controller, you had to buy a whole new system."
For Dueweke, timing is everything. "One of the attractions for me with RWT is that it is a nice blend of software and factory automation. Going forward, there are some exciting things [in development that are] leveraging the Internet and will use robotics to contribute to business intelligence on the factory floor. Some of the technology we're implementing will help enable that and make that dream a reality," he said.
Weisel, who founded RWT 15 years ago, has demonstrated -- through 12 customer installations -- the applicability of the Universal Robot Controller. One of the most recent wins, announced on July 13th, is a multi-phase contract with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to provide control systems for robotic mechanisms that are planned for a future mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.
Emphasizing open systems, such as Linux, the universal controller allows more flexibility so that users are not tied to proprietary architectures. Not only does the technology work, RWT said, but it has the potential to improve equipment performance. "It can take a robot that is 10 to 15 years old and make it run 25% better -- in terms of speed and precision -- than when it was new," Dueweke said.
Within the next few months, RWT will release its third-generation Universal Robot Controller. Next year, the company is set to unveil its Universal Automation Controller, a device that will work with any brand of PLC or motion controller, providing a way to simplify programming and maintenance of multiple devices.
Gearing up for the new business, the company recently announced the opening of an office in Detroit, where Dueweke will focus much of his attention. He will be hiring more executive level individuals, augmenting the current 20-person workforce with more sales staff, partnering with system integrators and establishing a close connection with its automotive customers in the area.
Dueweke spent 12 years with FANUC Robotics, a developer of robotics, controls, and factory automation systems, where he managed the formation and operation of several new business units. As General Manager of the Flexible Automation Assembly Business Unit, he helped develop a patented programmable device to enable automotive factory assembly lines to produce multiple products using one set of tooling.
Previously, he was North American program manager for adhesives and sealant systems at what was ASEA Robotics, now ABB Robotics. He was also senior vice president of Global Emerging and Industrial Markets at Perceptron, a developer of machine vision and sensing equipment.
MA Editor-in-Chief David R. Brousell contributed to this article.