CRS Robotics
Encyclopedia
CRS Robotics Corporation (now Thermo CRS Limited) was a robotics company based out of Burlington
, Ontario
, Canada
. CRS Robotics designed, manufactured, distributed, and serviced human scale articulated robots Articulated robot
and laboratory automation systems. Human scale robots have approximately the same reach, speed, the range of motion, the degree of articulation and lifting capacity as a human being and are designed specifically to perform tasks that are hazardous, highly repetitive or generally unsuited for humans. Laboratory Automation
applications are used to speed the effort of drug discovery for pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers.
CRS Robotics was notable in the field of automated lab systems due to their developments in high throughput and ultra high throughput automated systems. Among other things, these developments included their advanced scheduling software, called POLARA
, which was an open and extensible platform for the management and control of complex automated systems. As an example, a “good portion of the work” for “the preliminary map of the human genetic code was performed on CRS Automated Lab Systems” .
The company commenced operations in 1982 as an engineering firm providing consulting services to Canadian machine tool manufacturers in the area of machine controls. The company sold its first robot, the M1 small robot system, in 1985. The company shipped its first laboratory automation
system in 1997.
The company changed its name to CRS Robotics Corporation in 1994. In 1995, the company completed an initial public offering. The company was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
In May of 2002, the company was acquired 100% by the Thermo Electron Corporation
, (NYSE
: TMO), and its name was subsequently changed to Thermo CRS.
Burlington, Ontario
Burlington , is a city located in Halton Region at the western end of Lake Ontario. Burlington is part of the Greater Toronto Area, and is also included in the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. Physically, Burlington lies between the north shore of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. CRS Robotics designed, manufactured, distributed, and serviced human scale articulated robots Articulated robot
Articulated robot
An articulated robot is a robot with rotary joints . Articulated robots can range from simple two-jointed structures to systems with 10 or more interacting joints....
and laboratory automation systems. Human scale robots have approximately the same reach, speed, the range of motion, the degree of articulation and lifting capacity as a human being and are designed specifically to perform tasks that are hazardous, highly repetitive or generally unsuited for humans. Laboratory Automation
Laboratory Automation
Laboratory automation is a multi-disciplinary strategy to research, develop, optimize and capitalize on technologies in the laboratory that enable new and improved processes...
applications are used to speed the effort of drug discovery for pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers.
CRS Robotics was notable in the field of automated lab systems due to their developments in high throughput and ultra high throughput automated systems. Among other things, these developments included their advanced scheduling software, called POLARA
Polara
Polara may refer to*Dodge Polara, an automobile model*Polara , a rock band from Minneapolis*Polara family, a noble family from Italy*Polara Productions, a television production company based in Eugene, Oregon*Polara Golf, a golf ball manufacturer...
, which was an open and extensible platform for the management and control of complex automated systems. As an example, a “good portion of the work” for “the preliminary map of the human genetic code was performed on CRS Automated Lab Systems” .
The company commenced operations in 1982 as an engineering firm providing consulting services to Canadian machine tool manufacturers in the area of machine controls. The company sold its first robot, the M1 small robot system, in 1985. The company shipped its first laboratory automation
Laboratory Automation
Laboratory automation is a multi-disciplinary strategy to research, develop, optimize and capitalize on technologies in the laboratory that enable new and improved processes...
system in 1997.
The company changed its name to CRS Robotics Corporation in 1994. In 1995, the company completed an initial public offering. The company was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
In May of 2002, the company was acquired 100% by the Thermo Electron Corporation
Thermo Electron
Thermo Electron Corporation was a major provider of analytical instruments and services for a variety of domains.Thermo had revenues of over $2 billion, and employed 11,000 people in 30 countries....
, (NYSE
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
: TMO), and its name was subsequently changed to Thermo CRS.
List of CRS Robots
- M1 (five axis articulated robot)
- A255 (five axis articulated robot)
- A465 (six axis articulated robot)
- F3 (six axis articulated robot)
- Catalyst 3 (three axis articulated robot)
- Catalyst 5 (five axis articulated robot)
- Dimension4 Family of Robots
- VAL (Vertical Array Loader) (four axis robot)
- Flip Mover (1, 2 or 3 axis versions)
- LPT (Linear Plate Transport) (1 axis)