Left Hand Robotics Launches New Platform to Enable OEMs to Automate Machines

Left Hand Robotics, pioneer and manufacturer of the world’s first self-driving smart robot for commercial turf and snow, recently launched BOLT, a technology platform that transforms outdoor machinery and power equipment into smarter, more efficient, ready-to-work robots.

Automating Machines for Unmanned Jobs

BOLT brings autonomous navigation, connected sensors, and real-time robot operations to outdoor power equipment and machines doing repetitive jobs across the globe. Building on Left Hand Robotics’ field-proven experience with its own robot tractors, BOLT allows OEMs to launch faster, reduce R&D costs, and tap into a unified platform with navigation, sensors, controls, software and apps.

“Our team has learned a lot, building, testing, proving how autonomous tractors can work on tedious, dirty jobs in the real world. These are tough problems to solve and we have already invested more than 80 engineering years into the technology behind BOLT,” says Terry Olkin, CEO for Left Hand Robotics. “We’ll continue to build our own robots while offering BOLT to a limited number of OEMs in the first year.

BOLT focuses on several key areas to help with machine automation, including:

• Autonomous Navigation and Telemetry
• Smart Sensors & Cameras
• Connected Power Equipment & Controls
• Cloud-Based Robot Operations Center & Apps
• Job Planning, Reporting & Analysis

Partnering with OEMs 

Since each OEM is likely to have different requirements or product needs, BOLT partners will go through multiple deployment phases, including evaluation, development, and deployment.

Left Hand Robotics soft-launched BOLT earlier this year and interest has been high from manufacturers needing more automation capabilities. Left Hand Robotics is already collaborating with top power equipment and machine manufacturers to incorporate BOLT features into their future product lines.