Demo robots equipped with swappable Vanguard battery packs

An Advanced Robotic Engineering (ARE) demolition robot equipped with a Briggs & Stratton Vanguard battery pack. (Image: Briggs & Stratton)

A swappable battery pack – the 48V Si1.5 KWh – and a fixed pack – the 48V Fi3.5 kWh – were engineered to work with three ARE demolition robot models: the 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0.

Originally, ARE developed its own battery pack but integrated the Vanguard batteries due to their safety reputation and performance in “the most extreme operating conditions”.

“While the large ARE 3.0 is powered by Vanguard’s 48V Fi3.5kWh fixed battery, allowing the demolition robot to operate on job sites for up to 30 minutes, the smaller ARE 1.0 and 2.0 models run on a 48V Si1.5kWh swappable battery,” explained Briggs & Stratton. “This feature provides additional operational flexibility through interchangeability, as a discharged Si1.5 battery can be easily swapped with a fully charged one.”

The battery packs eliminate the need to run cables to the units. Eliminating a power cable, the company said, also reduces the need for an employee to wrangle it.

“While one operator controlled the machine, another assisted on navigating the cable. As a consequence, moving machines was not only complicated and time consuming, but also required the involvement of several people at the job site,” said Briggs & Stratton of a cabled robotic demo process.

The ARE robots can still operate with cable power, as well.

Krzysztof Jakubowski, CEO of Advanced Robotic Engineering, said, “We’ve calculated that in a typical eight-hour working day, robot operators can save at least one hour by using this ARE/Vanguard hybrid system compared to only cable-operated robots.”