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17 Ashworth, founder of FloorBotics, the goal was to create a smart battery-operated appliance that could create new levels of cleanliness. "When you deploy a fleet of these devices, you need a way to centrally manage and monitor their status and progress," he explained. "That means that Sanibot™ needs wireless communications as it moves around the hospital. We turned to Digi for that important piece of the puzzle." Solution To achieve that wireless connectivity, FloorBotics engineers selected the Digi XBee ® Cellular LTE CAT 1 modem, which combines the power and flexibility of the Digi XBee ecosystem while providing 4G connectivity, built-in security, and design flexibility for IoT applications. Contributing to FloorBotics'selection of the Digi solution, a bundled data plan is included with every fully pre-provisioned development kit that's ready to communicate over the cellular network right out of the box. Digi XBee Cellular modems are bundled together with Digi Remote Manager ® software that enables FloorBotics' customers to remotely monitor and manage Sanibot™ robots and also provide over-the-air (OTA) remote firmware upgrades. According to Ashworth, during the development phase, wireless communication with the Sanibot prototype was essential. "Normally, when you develop an application, it's on a computer you write the software, run it, and debug it," he said. "But with a robot, your computer is running away from you! With Digi in place, we were able to trace commands and instructions and replay log files. We couldn't have debugged our robot without that capability." "Digi had tools that were easy to use. We ordered a development kit and had it up and running very quickly. The cellular plan worked right out of the box and we were really pleased with that. Plus, the data rates are super-low." In production models, the Sanibot can send text messages about status, error codes (e.g. lamp failure or motor problem), battery life, and other metrics. Customers can monitor each Sanibot's progress and activities from a smartphone or computer. These text strings go to a database, which can also send an alert to a smartphone. For instance, it might report a closed door or send an "I'm done" when a room is complete. Results "Maintaining 100 percent uptime is the goal for Sanibot™ in order for customers to receive the maximum value," said Ashworth, "so maintaining communication with the fleet of Sanibots is essential to prevent or respond to issues as quickly as possible. Our goal has been to make the Sanibot as easy to use as a CD player. You just put it on the floor and hit start. It builds a map of the area, covers the floor in the most efficient manner, and knows when it's done. Thanks to the wireless connection, the customer always knows the status. "We envision Sanibots being an ideal cleaning appliance in other settings too, such as daycare facilities and nursing homes or even the residences of immunocompromised patients receiving therapies at home, such as dialysis. That will require smart, efficient, and inexpensive connectivity and that's what Digi provides us."

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