Ridgeback Development Platform gives legs wheels to Baxter and other stationary manipulators

(Kitchener, ON, Canada - May 26, 2015) Today Clearpath Robotics announced the newest member of its robot fleet: an omnidirectional development platform called Ridgeback. The mobile robot is designed to carry heavy payloads and easily integrate with a variety of manipulators and sensors. Ridgeback was unveiled as a mobile base for Rethink Robotics Baxter research platform at ICRA 2015 in Seattle, Washington.

"Many of our customers have approached us looking for a way to use Baxter for mobile manipulation research - these customers inspired the concept of Ridgeback. The platform is designed so that Baxter can plug into Ridgeback and go," said Julian Ware, General Manager for Research Products at Clearpath Robotics. "Ridgeback includes all the ROS, visualization and simulation support needed to start doing interesting research right out of the box."

Ridgebacks rugged drivetrain and chassis is designed to move manipulators and other heavy payloads with ease. Omnidirectional wheels provide precision control for forward, lateral or twisting movements in constrained environments. Following suit of other Clearpath robots, Ridgeback is ROS-ready and designed for rapid integration of sensors and payloads; specific consideration has been made for the integration of the Baxter research platform.

"Giving Baxter automated mobility opens up a world of new research possibilities," said Brian Benoit, senior product manager at Rethink Robotics. "Researchers can now use Baxter and Ridgeback for a wide range of applications where mobility and manipulation are required, including service robotics, tele-operated robotics, and human robot interaction."

Learn more about Ridgeback AGV at www.clearpathrobotics.com/ridgeback.

About Rethink Robotics
Rethink Robotics, Inc. helps manufacturers meet the challenges of an agile economy with an integrated workforce, combining trainable, safe and cost-effective robots with skilled labor. Its Baxter and Sawyer robots, driven by Intera, an advanced software platform, gives world-class manufacturers and distributors in automotive, plastics, consumer goods, electronics and more, a workforce multiplier that optimizes labor. With Rethink Robotics, manufacturers increase flexibility, lower costs and can invest in skilled labor—all advantages in fueling continuous innovation and sustainable competitive advantage.

Committed to accelerating robotics innovation in manufacturing and beyond, Rethink Robotics Baxter Research Robot gives academic and corporate research environments a humanoid robot platform with integrated sensors and an open software development kit for creating custom applications. Learn more at www.rethinkrobotics.com. Follow Rethink Robotics on Twitter @RethinkRobotics.

About Clearpath Robotics
Clearpath Robotics Inc. is a global robotics company dedicated to automating the worlds dullest, dirtiest, and deadliest jobs with intelligent service robots. The Company provides robot hardware, software and services to enable robot development, deployment and operation. Clearpath works with over 500 of the worlds most innovative brands in over 40 countries, serving markets that span industrial materials handling, mining, military, agriculture, aerospace and academia. Clearpath is an award-winning company with recent awards, including Robotics Business Review Top 50 Company, Edison Award for Innovation, Business Insider Top 40 under 40, and Canadas Top 100 Employers. Visit Clearpath Robotics at www.clearpathrobotics.com.