In this project, we deployed amobile manipulator combining an autonomous mobile base with a collaborative robotic armto handle these tasks as one continuous workflow.
The system shown in the project can autonomously travel between laboratory workstations, pick up and place material boxes, carry them onboard during transportation, navigate through corridors, enter an elevator, operate the elevator controls with its robotic arm, and continue the mission on another floor.
Material Pickup Directly from the Laboratory Workbench
The task begins with the mobile manipulator navigating to a designated workstation inside the laboratory.
After arriving beside the workbench, the mobile base stops at the required operating position and the collaborative arm extends toward the material pickup area.
The end effector grips a rectangular material box from the workbench and lifts it away from the surface. Instead of requiring an operator to manually load the mobile robot, the robotic arm performs this interface automatically.
The arm then transfers the box to the onboard carrying area of the mobile platform.
The pickup sequence can therefore be completed as:
Workstation → robotic arm pickup → onboard material position
This arrangement allows the robot to interact directly with existing laboratory workstations without requiring every pickup point to use a dedicated conveyor or automated loading device.
Autonomous Transfer Through an Active Laboratory Environment
Once the material has been secured on the mobile platform, the robotic arm retracts into a suitable travel position and the robot leaves the workstation.
The project environment is a working laboratory rather than a dedicated automated logistics zone. The robot travels between workbenches, equipment, personnel, doors, and shared indoor passages.
This type of environment requires the mobile system to connect multiple distributed work areas while operating within the existing building layout.
The mobile base provides the transportation range, while the robotic arm allows the same system to interact with different workstation interfaces.
This means one mobile manipulator can move between multiple locations rather than remaining permanently installed beside a single machine or workbench.
Automatic Delivery to the Destination Workstation
After reaching the destination workstation, the mobile manipulator stops next to the receiving area.
The collaborative arm extends again and retrieves the transported box from the robot’s onboard carrying position.
The arm moves the material toward the workbench, adjusts its position and height, and places the box onto the designated area before releasing it.
The complete workstation-to-workstation transfer therefore includes:
Automatic pickup → onboard transport → autonomous navigation → automatic placement
The loading and unloading operations are handled by the same robot that performs the transportation.
This reduces the need for operators to manually transfer materials between a workbench and a conventional AMR at both ends of the route.
Extending the Task Across Multiple Floors
One of the most distinctive parts of this project is the robot’s interaction with the building elevator.
After completing the laboratory transfer task, the mobile manipulator travels through the indoor corridor toward the elevator area.
When the elevator becomes available, the robot enters the elevator cabin and positions itself so that the robotic arm can reach the control panel.
The arm then extends toward the elevator buttons and physically operates the required control.
After the elevator reaches the destination floor and the doors open, the robot exits the cabin and continues navigating toward the next working area.
This expands the robot’s operating range beyond a single laboratory or floor.
The complete cross-floor workflow shown in the project can be summarized as:
Navigate to pickup station → pick material from workbench → place material onboard → transport through laboratory → deliver to workstation → travel to elevator → enter elevator → operate elevator button → move to another floor → continue the logistics task
Combining Material Handling and Physical Interaction
The project demonstrates why a mobile manipulator can cover tasks that are difficult for a standard AMR to complete independently.
A conventional mobile robot is primarily responsible for transportation. Loading and unloading often still depend on operators, conveyors, docking mechanisms, or other automated equipment.
In this project, the robotic arm provides the physical interaction required at both ends of the transport process.
It can pick material directly from a workbench, place it onto the mobile platform, unload it at another workstation, and interact with infrastructure such as elevator controls.
The mobile base, meanwhile, provides autonomous movement between these distributed locations.
Together, the two systems allow a single robot to perform bothintralogistics transportation and workstation-level material handling.
A Flexible Approach to Laboratory Intralogistics
Laboratories, R&D centers, testing facilities, and multi-floor production buildings often contain workstations that were originally designed for human operation rather than automated material flow.
Installing fixed conveyors between these locations may be impractical because of building layout, shared passages, changing workstation arrangements, or the need to serve several floors.
A mobile manipulator provides another approach.
Instead of requiring a continuous fixed material-handling system, the robot travels to the location where the material is located, performs the required handling operation, and then continues to the next destination.
In this case, the same mobile manipulator connects workbench pickup, indoor transportation, workstation delivery, corridor navigation, and elevator-based cross-floor movement within one automated material-handling process.