wheel.me, founded in 2013, has developed a system of autonomous, motorized wheels that can be attached to almost any object, enabling it to move independently. The wheels are currently equipped with sensors, cameras and LiDAR to navigate and interact safely with humans and their environment.

As a member of our Early Access Program, wheel.me is testing out the Sonair 3D ultrasonic evaluation kit to see if these sensors can make their robot wheels even safer and more efficient. This testing will help Sonair determine, among other things, where our sensors should be mounted, and what connection points are needed.

We sat down for a Q&A with their Product Manager, Daniel Hjørnevik.

Q: How did wheel.me get started?

A: Back in 2013, our founder found himself helping various friends and family move three times in quick succession. Lugging all that heavy furniture around made him think there must be a better way. So, he came up with the idea of a pop-up wheel that came in a canister and could attach to nearly anything, making it easier to move. If the thing had legs, you’d attach wheels and voilà, you could move it much more easily.

Around the same time, the Internet of Things was really taking off and it was soon evident that if this idea was going to truly be useful, the wheels needed to be smart. Together with his co-founder the team travelled across trade shows, conferences, and other business opportunities. In parallel, the wheel developed into a smart, motorized autonomous wheel. In 2019 they started to hire engineers and business developers and the commercialization of the idea really started to take off.

Q: What advantages do wheel.me’s autonomous wheels offer over more traditional Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs)?

A: wheel.me provides a flexible and easily adaptable approach to automation that fits easily into existing workflows and layouts. Since the wheels can be attached to the carts and trolleys already in use in a factory or warehouse environment, it eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming infrastructure changes. This makes the wheel.me Genius solution an affordable and quickly deployable automation technology to be used for intralogistics material handling across multiple verticals. The cost is significantly less than the larger AMRs on the market today, making it a very attractive automation solution.

Q: How has the field of industrial autonomy changed since wheel.me started?

A: There have been significant advancements in sensor technology and artificial intelligence. The initial automation technology was Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) that required a lot of fixed infrastructure on the factory floor to run on pre-determined paths. Then followed AMRs, which thanks to more sophisticated sensors and cameras can navigate independently. Today, algorithms and AI have shifted focus from pre-programmed movements to robots that can “think” and adapt to their environment.

Q: What are typical safety challenges when deploying autonomous mobile robots?

A: What's most important is to make the operators understand how the robots behave. They’ll be a natural part of work life for their human operators, so the people have to understand what the robots can and cannot do, including its safety system. We do extensive operator training, with a superuser - then they know what to expect. It’s also super important that the robot is visible, so they also have lights and sounds.

The wheel has vision - two cameras - and it uses a LiDAR 360° scanner so it can recognize where it is. We come in and map the whole facility with the robot — a bit like training your iPhone with your fingerprint. It updates the map of the facility constantly and it “knows” where it is.

Q: Where have you seen the most traction for wheel.me’s flexible smart wheels?

A: We have a good foothold in the automotive industry, where companies have seen the possibilities our wheels offer for safely revolutionizing material handling, improving efficiency, and freeing up human workers for more complex tasks.  All while transforming legacy equipment, such as (kitting) carts, racks, and dollies, into self-driving smart robots.

In fact, this year, our wheels were awarded the Value Award at the 2024 Stellantis Venture Awards.

Q: What has been the biggest surprise for wheel.me as a company?

A: The incredibly fine balance of technology advancements and industry requirements. We started off designing a very complex, tech-heavy solution. As market traction increased, we discovered the need to shift focus to meet industry needs. Yes, focusing on groundbreaking technology and innovation is important to stand out in the market, but safety and reliability is what keeps you in the market for the long run.

One example is when we embarked on the process to attain the IEC 61508 - functional safety standard on our products. This led us to a large redesign of our product from the bottom up to meet the standards for the certification.  It also made us realize that the right organization must be in place to support the standard. But we knew this was essential for our business and it made our product and our organization much better.

By including safety-certified sensors from Sonair, we can make the process of certifying the entire system much easier and more efficient.

Q: Any final thoughts?

A: Being a young, small company, you depend a lot on having the right people to succeed. You need people who are willing to go the extra mile and figure out how to get stuff done. We are literally reinventing the wheel. Innovation is going where no one has gone before; it’s something new. Trying, failing, correcting. It’s so crucial to have the correct people in the correct place at the correct time.

The collaboration project between wheel.me and Sonair is funded, in part, by a grant from The Research Council of Norway.

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