Lantronix Teams With Misty Robotics to Create Open-Platform Robot
Misty II Utilizes Qualcomm® Robotics Solutions to Provide Open-Platform Robot Capable of Tasks for Education, Eldercare and COVID-19 Prevention
IRVINE, Calif., June 10, 2020 — Lantronix Inc. (NASDAQ: LTRX), a global provider of intelligent edge and secure data management solutions for the industrial Internet of Things (IoT), todayannounced that Misty Robotics, with the support of Lantronix, has created Misty II. An open-platform robot, Misty II has built-in applications for education, eldercare and COVID-19 transmission prevention in addition to extensive development capabilities. Qualcomm® Robotics solutions from Qualcomm Technologies Inc. are integrated into Misty II.
“For robots to become a part of our everyday lives, developers need an accessible robot platform upon which to build,” said Morgan Bell, Head of Engineering for Misty Robotics. “Working with Lantronix and its Intelligent Edge Solutions (IES) platform, we created Misty II with the performance and development capabilities needed for meaningful tasks and customization for business, home healthcare and educational use.”
“Lantronix’s role in the creation of Misty II is a direct result of our expanded offerings in edge computing and engineering services attributed to our recent acquisition of Intrinsyc Technologies Corporation,” said Paul Pickle, CEO of Lantronix. “Our expanded strengths enable us to offer Intelligent Edge Solutions that address a wide variety of development and manufacturing needs to support our customers’ visions — ranging from robotics to medical solutions to the fight against COVID-19.”
Challenge: Create an Open-Platform Robot for Use in Business, Home and Education
Misty Robotics turned to Lantronix to co-create an open-platform robot that could perform human-like tasks with a personality and perception abilities as well as serve as the basis for additional application development.
In addition to having the powerful technology needed for a useful robot, the Misty II platform needed to be easy to program and have expandable capabilities. The ultimate goal was to create an open platform so developers from around the world could contribute to Misty’s growth.
Solution: A Platform Robot That Invites Everyone to Contribute
Lantronix used its expertise to help Misty Robotics incorporate Qualcomm Robotics solutions into the design. Misty’s hardware includes two IES System on Modules (SOMs) based on solutions from Qualcomm Technologies.
The IES Open-Q™ 820Pro µSOM is equipped with a Qualcomm® APQ8096SG application processor for visual and acoustic processing while the Open-Q™ 410 SOM is equipped with a Qualcomm® APQ8016E application processor running Windows 10 IoT Core for UI/UX and programmability. Also included is the Qualcomm® Aqstic™ Audio Codec (WCD9335) for advanced audio processing purposes.
Misty’s software utilizes the Qualcomm® Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engine for object detection and machine learning, Qualcomm® Noise and Echo Cancellation and Qualcomm® Voice Activation for which Lantronix enabled Qualcomm® Hexagon™ DSP-based voice activation for APE-mode keyword detection for the “Hey Misty” custom keyword detection.
Working with Qualcomm Technologies’ robotics and audio team, Lantronix helped to facilitate advanced audio and keyword tuning. Advanced audio features for beam forming and noise reduction were key features to aid users interacting with Misty while in noisy environments.
Lantronix design services were leveraged by Misty Robotics to develop many other software capabilities, including camera management, audio management, display panel support, audio topology support using multiple microphones and speaker output, inter-processor communication, battery charging and tuning of noise suppression. Lantronix also helped with hardware design reviews and FCC certification testing support.
Results: A Platform Robot With Unlimited Potential
An innovator in product development services and edge computing modules, Lantronix helped Misty Robotics take full advantage of robotics solutions from Qualcomm Technologies to create Misty II, an open robotics development and learning platform.
Misty’s capabilities include:
- An industrial yet approachable design with a fully articulating head and screen face capable of conveying an impressive array of expressions and personality and the ability to respond to touch
- Spatial awareness and mapping that allows her to move freely on her motor-driven treads, including the ability to travel to her charging station when low on battery
- High-resolution camera and object detection capabilities that let her detect people’s faces and other visual information
- Far-field microphones and audio processing capabilities that give her the ability to hear speech while filtering out background noise
- Advanced audio and keyword tuning
- Ability to record video and audio data and share it with other devices or use her screen and speakers to stream data shared with her by other devices
The true potential lies in Misty’s customization. Both her hardware and software can be modified with ease. For example:
- Misty’s arms, headpiece and other appendages serve as attachment points so developers can build their own custom hardware attachments for unique tasks
- A software development kit makes programming easy without prior robotics training
- Misty is capable of integration with third-party APIs
- Misty can be programmed for unique skills
- Application templates are available from the Misty development community
- Hardware and software modifications can be shared with the community
Results: An Impressive Robot for Today With Unlimited Potential for Tomorrow
Built for exceptional performance, Misty has an impressive array of capabilities and gives developers the opportunity to build meaningful robot applications. With Misty, developers don’t need to worry about building their own robots. Utilizing Misty’s open platform, developers can devote their attention to implementing their ideas and sharing them with the world.
Misty’s applications include:
- Misty’s straightforward software development kits and hardware customization provide an incredibly engaging opportunity for students to learn programming, robotics and more.
- Misty can be used in the growing eldercare industry to promote independence and quality of life. She can serve as a senior assistant by connecting to smart home appliances, monitoring falls and providing medication reminders all while supplying companionship with her convincing personality.
- COVID-19 Protection and Prevention. Misty can help keep people safe from illnesses such as COVID-19. Currently under development are applications that enable Misty to move through a building to sanitize doorknobs and other surfaces that are frequently touched. Other applications will allow her to question visitors for symptoms of illness and use infrared cameras to check their temperatures for fevers, reducing the risk of exposure.
- Social Use. Misty will also have applications that enable her use as a greeter, receptionist, delivery agent, security monitor and more.
“Misty’s most promising applications may have yet to be discovered. She has the potential to tap into the imagination of millions of developers who aspire to work with robots, helping shape the future of the industry,” said Morgan Bell, Head of Engineering for Misty Robotics.
For more, visit the complete case study.
Lantronix acquired Intrinsyc Technologies Corporation, a leading provider of solutions for the development of embedded and IoT products, in January 2020. With this acquisition, Lantronix acquired edge computing and design capabilities crucial to the development of intelligent IoT solutions.
About Lantronix
Lantronix, Inc. is a global provider of engineering services, hardware, and software solutions for Edge Computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Out-of-Band Management (OOBM). Lantronix enables its customers to provide reliable and secure IoT Intelligent Edge and OOBM solutions while accelerating time to market. Lantronix’s products and services dramatically simplify the creation, development, deployment, and management of IoT projects while providing quality, reliability and security across hardware, software, and solutions.
With three decades of proven experience in creating robust IoT technologies and OOBM solutions, Lantronix is an innovator in enabling its customers to build new business models, leverage greater efficiencies and realize the possibilities of the Internet of Things. Lantronix’s solutions are deployed inside millions of machines at data centers, offices, and remote sites serving a wide range of industries, including energy, agriculture, medical, security, manufacturing, distribution, transportation, retail, financial, environmental and government.
Lantronix is headquartered in Irvine, California. For more information, visit www.lantronix.com.
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“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Any statements set forth in this news release that are not entirely historical and factual in nature, including without limitation statements related to our solutions and technologies, our assistance in the creation of Misty II an open-platform robot, our acquisitions, our corporate strategy, and their potential effects on revenue on future business and on our performance, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results, future business, financial condition, or performance to differ materially from our historical results or those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement contained in this news release. The potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, such factors as the effects of negative or worsening regional and worldwide economic conditions or market instability on our business, including effects on purchasing decisions by our customers; the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on our employees, supply and distribution chains, and the global economy; cybersecurity risks; changes in applicable U.S. and foreign government laws, regulations, and tariffs; our ability to successfully implement our acquisitions strategy or integrate acquired companies; difficulties and costs of protecting patents and other proprietary rights; the level of our indebtedness, our ability to service our indebtedness and the restrictions in our debt agreements; and any additional factors included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on September 11, 2019, including in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I of such report, as well as in our other public filings with the SEC. Additional risk factors may be identified from time to time in our future filings. The forward-looking statements included in this release speak only as of the date hereof, and we do not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
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Qualcomm, Hexagon, and Qualcomm Aqstic are trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated, registered in the United States and other countries.Qualcomm Robotics, Qualcomm APQ8096SG, Qualcomm APQ8016E, Qualcomm Aqstic, Qualcomm AI Engine, Qualcomm Noise and Echo Cancellation, Qualcomm Voice Activation and Qualcomm Hexagon are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.