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Singaporean robotics startup Globotix has announced their new groundbreaking cleaning robot FLEXA. Designed and manufactured in Singapore, FLEXA aims to challenge the facilities management industry by being an industrial-grade cleaning robot that can optimise its own activities. The robot is currently part of an internal trial programme with Changi Airport Group (CAG) at Terminal 4’s Transit Area after passing trials at Terminal 2’s Arrival Hall, with the entire programme taking place from August to December 2022.

As a robotics start-up that specialises in facilities management, Globotix aims to enhance the current offerings of industrial-grade cleaning robots in an oversaturated market full of cleaning robots with either single or limited in-built functions. This functionality issue creates further challenges, as robots that cannot be used for particular tasks remain idle in their charging stations.

“We wanted to create a robot with the principle of optimisation. That would be an industrial-grade cleaning robot that can not only be optimised for multiple tasks like vacuuming and scrubbing, but can also be optimised to accomplish those tasks efficiently,” said Jonathan Quek, Founder of and CEO of Globotix.

A Hyper-Adaptable Design

FLEXA is a multi-functional cleaning robot consisting of two parts; a base unit and a module. The base unit contains the core components of the robot, such as the battery and sensor systems, while the module is a swappable unit that can be attached to the base for a particular cleaning function, such as vacuuming or scrubbing. This first-of-its-kind modular system allows it to optimise the capabilities of a single robot and reduce the need for multiple robots covering limited roles.

Launched with a vacuuming module, FLEXA cleans with a productivity of 12.38 square feet per second and vacuums a 100-square-foot indoor surface area in approximately 8–9 seconds. Designed to work on carpeted and hard floors, the vacuum features a Globotix-developed cyclone filtration system along with HEPA filters to better clean surfaces and purify outgoing air from the vacuum. The module also features a 40-litre dust bin that does not require any rubbish bags or disposable containers, making the robot more cost-effective and sustainable.

Smart, Algorithm-Driven Navigation

The base unit’s sensor systems include two 2D LiDARs, six 3D cameras and eight SONAR sensors—all of which gives FLEXA 360-degree sensor coverage. This allows the robot to use an in-built Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) system to map, path and navigate locations on its own with ease. Additionally, these sensors allow FLEXA to perform system and hardware diagnostics checks, video live streaming and be controlled remotely via a website on the internet.

Through these sensor and mapping systems, users can also designate cleaning zones and prohibited areas based on the SLAM-generated map. From there, an onboard algorithmic navigation programme finds optimal cleaning routes between cleaning points while avoiding prohibited areas. Finally, the site can be used to pre-schedule cleaning tasks, with FLEXA being able to autonomously execute all pre-scheduled tasks and events.

The sensor systems also monitor FLEXA’s own battery levels throughout the day and can even independently return to its wireless charging station if its battery gets too low. The battery itself is also optimised to charge quickly, taking about 3.5 hours to charge the robot from 0% to 100%.

Since its founding days in 2016, Globotix continues to lead the facilities management sector with the NEO floor cleaning robot. With Globotix serving as the sole distributor of NEO’s Singaporean distributors, these robots have previously been in place at Changi Airport Terminal 4 and Circle Line MRT Stations such as Bishan.

With the vacuuming module complete, Globotix is looking to increase more modules and expand the utility of FLEXA, with planned modules for buffing, scrubbing, security, disinfection, and building inspection. Currently, they also have plans to incorporate Artificial Intelligence as a means of enhancing coordination between multiple FLEXA robots in the future.

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