Flexiv’s recent collaboration with BlackBerry QNX, a business unit of BlackBerry Limited, was on display at Automate in Chicago.
At the QNX booth, Flexiv’s Rizon 4 robotic arm highlighted its adaptability and compatibility by being operated via the Haply Inverse 3 Haptic Controller and managed by the advanced QNX foundational software.
The robotic arm demonstration, powered by the QNX real-time operating system, is designed for precision and performance optimization in industrial and surgical robotic environments.
Thanks to the QNX RTOS enabling high performance and real-time deterministic behavior, robotic systems can react immediately to commands without delays or disruptions.
When coupled with Flexiv’s embedded whole-body force control, which delivers precise force data at a 1,000Hz update frequency, industry-leading levels of robot motion control are achieved, providing an instantaneous response rate as attendees interact with the live demonstration. This capability is particularly critical in delicate manipulation tasks, where split-second decisions can make the difference between success and failure.
“Flexiv’s partnership with QNX and the integration of the QNX software have been instrumental in demonstrating the interoperability of our robots. We’re delighted that QNX chose the Flexiv Rizon 4 to showcase at global trade shows, including this week’s Automate and the upcoming ICRA expo in Japan, and I’m excited about the expanded visibility and the potential new applications we will see developed. Our joint solution is just the beginning of a long-term partnership that will help shape the future of robotics,” says Howard Huang, Flexiv’s North American business director.
Grant Courville, vice president, product & strategy, at BlackBerry QNX, adds: “Flexiv’s Rizon 4 is an innovative platform that leverages the performance capabilities of the QNX RTOS. Our robot demo was a huge hit at Embedded World in Germany and the Boston Robotic Summit as it provided an experiential approach to showcasing the benefits of hard real-time deterministic software. The integration of Flexiv’s Robot Development Kit on QNX cannot be overlooked – it is impressively simple to build a robotic routine and there was a lot of interest from system integrators and robotic software engineers at the event.
“The consistent responsiveness and feedback control loop from the robot were key to demonstrating the critical role of our hard real-time software coupled with the robust hardware and software application design of the Rizon 4. The results were really impressive.”
At the Automate event, Flexiv Robotics also collaborated with Keyence to show how adaptive robotics and precise sensors are shaping the future of factory automation while also demonstrating the synergy between Flexiv’s and Keyence’s solutions.