Slamcore releases updated SDK enabling person detection

Release 23.04 is the first to include Slamcore’s Perceive functionality as standard, whilst also introducing out-of-the-box support for the NVIDIA Jetson Orin family of embedded systems for edge AI and robotics.

This release works to accelerate the integration of vision in autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and provide enhanced results for safety, efficiency, and return on investment in material handling environments.

The inclusion of Slamcore’s Perceive functions, previously only available as part of collaborative customer engagements with the firm, opens the door for many more developers to quickly add the power of semantic segmentation to their products.

Slamcore Perceive builds on position and mapping functions to automatically label and identify people in real time running at the edge (onboard the robot without remote processing). Robots with this Slamcore capability will now be able to leverage rich information to inform real-time decisions on path planning, obstacle avoidance and a wide range of other autonomous functions.

Rather than simply registering the presence of an obstacle, with Slamcore an AMR can now identify the presence of humans and make different decisions based on what has been identified. For example, it may slow down and create a wide exclusion zone around an object it identifies as a human to maximise safety, whereas if the object is not a human, the robot could move closer and faster to optimise efficiency.

“Until now, we could only offer capabilities like these on a design-by-design basis in close collaboration with our customers,” commented Owen Nicholson, CEO of Slamcore. “We provide a reference neural network for identifying objects but have designed this feature with flexibility in mind. Customers can use our API to integrate their own networks and start to truly harness the power of semantic classification in 3D space.”

Slamcore is a Preferred Jetson ecosystem partner in the NVIDIA Partner Network. With this release, Slamcore also adds out-of-the-box, optimised support for the NVIDIA Jetson Orin lineup of modules, which delivers performance and efficiency for robots and autonomous machines.

The Jetson Orin family of embedded systems allows developers to deploy large, complex models that support 3D perception and multi-sensor fusion. As a solution to solve the needs of complex AI systems at the edge, the Jetson Orin supports next-generation mobile robots for industrial and warehouse use cases. Developers looking at this platform can now set up, test, and integrate Slamcore algorithms rapidly and with ease.

Success for AMRs in warehousing and logistics depends on a fine balance between speed, efficiency, safety, and cost. Previous versions of Slamcore’s SDK have already proven essential first steps for many who have looked to integrate spatial intelligence into their autonomous products.

With this new version, Slamcore is extending the capabilities, value and performance of its out-of-the-box SLAM solution and adding features of particular relevance to the high-growth warehousing and logistics markets. The SDK provides developers with rapid routes to implement this software on some of the most widely used combinations of sensors and processors used in the market.

Interested original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can request access to Slamcore’s Spatial Intelligence SDK online at slamcore.com/sdk, while existing customers can download the latest release directly from the user portal.