Adept Technology Inc. ( www.adept.com),  a Pleasanton, Calif.-based provider of vision-guided robotics and services, announced on June 14 that it has entered into an agreement to acquire privately held MobileRobots Inc. ( www.mobilerobots.com), a provider of autonomous robot and automated guided vehicle (AGV) technologies. Terms of the deal were not provided.

Based in Amherst N.H., MobileRobots uniquely positions Adept to deliver productivity gains in unstructured environments, many of which reside beyond traditional robot applications, according to Adept. Equipping Adept’s global sales channels with autonomous robots and associated technologies will enable the company to address the needs of the production logistics markets.

“With this acquisition, Adept strengthens its ability to develop and deliver highly flexible automation solutions aligned with the needs and demands of our target markets,” said John Dulchinos, Adept president and chief executive officer. “We are clearly focused on removing the challenges and costs associated with manual and less sophisticated means of moving critical components through production environments in a flexible manner, and MobileRobots extends this value proposition beyond our industry’s traditional application areas.”

Million miles

From individual robots in hospitals to fleets of AGVs in factories, automation solution providers and end-users have increasingly depended on million-mile proven solutions from MobileRobots, Adept said. The ability for the company’s autonomous platforms to navigate in unstructured environments and provide comprehensive solutions and flexibility in delivering supplies, components and parts in complex and peopled environments has been paramount to the adoption of MobileRobots across numerous industries.

“Joining Adept and leveraging their resources and international sales infrastructure will enable the MobileRobots team to capitalize on the over 15 years of investment into developing technologies and solutions for markets with clearly defined needs,” said Jeanne Dietsch, chief executive officer and co-founder of MobileRobots. “In carefully analyzing the combining of the companies, it became clear that our road map, positioning, organization and culture are complementary and the acquisition will therefore enable us to more rapidly and fully service our customers.”

The acquisition of MobileRobots expands Adept’s automation presence in markets including industrial, commercial, medical, research and academia and will contribute to continued innovation in the automation of logistical processes, Adept said. The MobileRobots team brings expertise in autonomous platform design and advanced fleet management along with applications experience and an established industry network. Upon completion of the acquisition, MobileRobots employees will become part of the Adept MobileRobots group and will work with Adept's existing engineering, operations and service teams in Pleasanton, Calif., Dortmund, Germany and Singapore.

Adept Technology Inc.
www.adept.com

MobileRobots Inc.
www.mobilerobots.com

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