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Evaluate environment

Adjust your site to meet the operating requirements for MiR robots. See Evaluate environment.

  • Measure the smallest areas and verify they meet the robots' space requirements.

  • Test the robots on all driving surfaces and inclines, including gaps and steps, and identify if any areas require special driving behavior.

  • Modify areas with direct lighting, reflective surfaces, or transparent obstacles that may interfere with the robots' sensor system.

  • Evaluate if the site meets all environmental specifications for MiR robots.

  • Check your site for missing, broken, or faulty equipment.

  • Determine where you can install charging stations, load transfer stations, and a service area if relevant.

You can find the environment and space requirements under the specifications for your robot on MiR Support Portal.

Surfaces

  • The floor surface must be clean and dry.

  • The floor material and condition can affect the performance and safety of the robots. Test the robots on all the floor types they will operate on.

  • The floor surface must be even without bumps and holes.

  • The floor may not have gaps or sills that exceed the maximum size described in the robots' specifications.

  • The friction coefficient between the floor and the drive wheels on the robots should be in the range of 0.60 to 0.80. This parameter is dependent on the results of the brake test—see Test braking distance.

  • The surface slope must not exceed the maximum incline described in the robots' specifications.

  • If these surface requirements are not met, we cannot guarantee the robots' stability even if you are within the payload specifications—see the manual for your robot application.

Light, reflections, and materials

  • Bright sunlight and reflective or transparent objects can affect the performance of the robots' safety laser scanners and cameras. This can result in robots detecting nonexistent objects or failing to detect real objects.

  • Avoid making markers in very high gloss or transparent materials. This can reduce the effectiveness of the robots' scanners, hindering a successful docking.

  • If you cannot avoid glass or glossy material, you can apply a line of matte tape on transparent or reflective objects at the robots' scanner height to make sure the robots detect them correctly. Always test that this solution works from various robot distances.

  • Take time of day and season into account when evaluating the natural lighting conditions on site, as these may change enough to affect robots' scanner and camera performance.

Required space

  • Operating the robots in areas that do not meet the approved specifications for required space can result in the robots entering Protective stop often and planning unexpected routes. See the space requirement guide for your robot applications. You can find these guides on MiR Support Portal.

  • For personnel safety, ensure to have sufficient space and escape routes according to standards and regulations of the country where the robots are installed—see Escape routes. For more information, see ISO 3691-4 or ANSI B56.5.

Temperature and humidity

Temperatures and air humidity outside of the approved range can affect the performance and durability of the robots. This is especially relevant for the robots' batteries.

Dust

Dusty environments can affect the performance, durability, and maintenance frequency of the robots. Make sure the environment the robots operate in is suitable for its IP rating.

Static landmarks and dynamic obstacles

The robots uses static landmarks to navigate by. If they cannot detect enough distinguishing landmarks, it cannot navigate the map efficiently and will report localization errors.

Elevators

If you intend for the robots to use elevators to travel between floors, verify that the combined weight of the robot, including payload, battery, and top module does not exceed the limits of the elevator.

Equipment

Check that any equipment that robots operate with or around are functioning correctly and have all their safeguards.

Check that there is solid, matte material at the scanner height that MiR robots can use to detect the equipment. If robots cannot reliably detect the equipment, either install panels at scanner height. For the scanner height, see your robot's manual.

Assess if you are missing any relevant equipment for the intended solution.

Charging stations and staging areas

Allocate certain areas of your site for charging and staging. Areas where you install charging stations must meet the electrical and environmental requirements for the charging station—see the manual for the charging station.