ABOUT

AMBOTS Inc. is commercializing the patent-pending swarm 3D printing and assembly technologies invented by the AM³ Lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arkansas. Originally conceived in 2015 by Dr. Wenchao Zhou, the founder and director of the AM³ Lab, swarm 3D printing and assembly was further developed by teams from both the AM³ Lab and the SiDi Lab directed by Dr. Zhenghui Sha. This technology aims to automate manufacturing with a swarm of smart and autonomous mobile robots, from everyday products to houses and infrastructures. Just like how a swarm
of bees or wasps would work together to build their nests, the swarm of smart mobile robots can work together to print and assemble products based on digital models on demand. AMBOTS stands for Autonomous Mobile roBOTS and Advanced Manufacturing roBOTS.

VISION

AMBOTS envisions a civilization where manufacturing is fully digitized and automated with a swarm of advanced manufacturing robots such that customized products can be manufactured on demand at low cost based on digital designs.

Automation has been a central theme throughout the history of human civilization to free us from mundane tasks, including both physical work and mental work. Machines using horsepower, hydropower, electricity, and/or various other energy forms were invented to liberate us from physical labor. Information technology and artificial intelligence are developed to reduce the workload of our brains. Most of the tasks that have been automated remain relatively simple. As the foundation and a symbol of the level of our civilization, manufacturing is one of the most sophisticated tasks that requires meticulous coordination of many skilled workers and tools.
While modern factories have been increasingly automated, most of them are fine-tuned to manufacture a specific product. A generic automatic factory that can produce a wide variety of products based on digital designs is yet on the horizon.

MISSION

AMBOTS is missioned to accelerate the transition to a civilization with fully autonomous and on-demand manufacturing. To realize our vision, AMBOTS is integrating existing and developing new manufacturing technologies to break down a complex manufacturing task into primitive tasks, which are automated and coordinated by autonomous mobile robots.