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Innova offers licenses for its patented PC Control System used in robotics applications

  • July 10, 2007
  • News

Summary

Negotiations with control manufacturers, other developers and commercial users have begun.FORT MYERS, FL – July 10, 2007 – Innova Robotics & Automation, Inc. (INRA.OB) announced today that it is offering licenses for its PC control system technology, which is protected by three Pioneer Patents (6,442,451 issued in 2002; 6,675,070 issued in 2004; and 6,922,611 issued in 2005). The company cannot provide any guarantee that it will be successful in finalizing any licensing deal. After more than two years in Federal Court, the Robotic Workspace Technologies (RWT) subsidiary reached a settlement in March 2007 with a large international industrial robot manufacturer with regard to its control system technology. The company has begun contacting companies regarding the proposed license. Innova Robotics and Automation intends to use every means possible to protect the company’s intellectual property and enforce its patents.“We believe there are a number of cases of patent infringement and our first choice is to offer a licensing option that will make the market more efficient. We intend to provide licensing choices tailored to each application so that robotic PC control systems can continue to proliferate in a legal and fully-paid for manner,” said Walter Weisel, Chairman and CEO. “We will also give companies wishing to develop advanced PC robotic controllers for any robotic application the opportunity to team with us to shortcut lead-time to market and decrease the investment in development costs for what I would call ‘reinventing the wheel’.”The patents cover the company’s real-time PC control system capable of controlling robots and automation equipment of various electromechanical configurations from a common programmer/operator interface. Management believes the benefits of open PC control systems are well documented as manufacturing companies have for many years moved away from proprietary systems. The company’s PC control system provides the ability for automated equipment of different types to communicate and share data over factory networks in a fashion that emulates production flow. Further, open PC control systems enable manufacturers to integrate complementary hardware and software for quality control, inventory management, and a wide range of other process and business management functions that result in significant economic advantages to the manufacturer and product enhancements for the consumer. Open PC control systems greatly simplify operator training, programming, maintenance, spare parts inventories, and related tasks that in a complex proprietary control environment can significantly increase production lead-time and cost.Innova Robotics and Automation markets its patent-protected PC control system through its RWT subsidiary under the brand name Universal Robot Controller (URC). Fortune companies as well as smaller manufacturers are using the URC in production settings ranging from material handling to arc welding to 8-axis welding and plasma cutting. Universities and developers are using the URC for education, training, and research. Some of the most compelling research projects that use the URC are at NASA because the URC is the only commercially available controller that provides the computational speeds required to simulate the movements of a robotic arm and other devices in a zero gravity environment.“With thousands of PC control system units deployed we expect Innova Robotics and Automation to be compensated for the benefits realized,” Weisel said. “Though we possess broad legal rights, we plan to use these carefully and judiciously. Today we are delivering a very clear message that intellectual property is valuable and needs to be respected and paid for by those who use it for their own commercial benefit. We believe our offer to license the control system technology accomplishes that objective in a fair and balanced way.” The company cannot provide any guarantee that it will be successful in finalizing any licensing deal. About Innova Robotics & Automation, Inc. Fort Myers, FL.-based Innova Robotics & Automation (INRA.OB) pioneers open architecture PC control systems and applications software that makes robotic and automated systems more productive, powerful and profitable for users in the manufacturing/industrial, service, research, and educational markets. The Company is chartered to continue expanding its growing suite of technologies through acquisitions and organic growth. Innova operates through four subsidiaries, Robotic Workspace Technologies (RWT), CoroWare Technologies, Altronics Service, and Innova Robotics, which offer convergent technology and expertise for greater functionality and ROA. Learn More

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