IoT & Industrial Automation

Real-Time Robot Tracking for Automotive Manufacturing

One of the region's leading automotive manufacturers needed real-time visibility into autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) operating across their manufacturing facilities. We engineered a robust MQTT + REST API integration with their digital twin platform, enabling 10Hz position data streaming, multi-plant support, and secure per-device authentication.

The Challenge: No Real-Time Visibility into Factory Floor Robots

Factories of Future, a smart manufacturing solutions provider, was deploying autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for one of the region's largest automotive manufacturers. The AMRs handled material transport across factory floors, but there was no centralized monitoring system. Operations teams had no real-time visibility into robot positions, status, or performance.

Critical gaps included:

  • Zero real-time tracking: No way to monitor where robots were or what they were doing
  • Siloed vendor systems: AMR vendor's proprietary interface couldn't integrate with the manufacturer's digital twin platform (Twinzo)
  • Multi-plant complexity: The manufacturer operates multiple facilities with different coordinate systems and layouts
  • Security requirements: Enterprise-grade authentication needed for production floor IoT devices
  • Performance demands: Factory monitoring required near-instantaneous updates (10Hz data streaming)

Key Takeaway from Challenge

In smart manufacturing, real-time visibility isn't a nice-to-have—it's the foundation of operational efficiency. When you can't see what's happening on your factory floor in real-time, you're flying blind.

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The Solution: MQTT + REST API Integration with Digital Twin Platform

We engineered a bidirectional integration between the Hi-tech AMR vendor's control system and the manufacturer's Twinzo digital twin platform, using MQTT for real-time data streaming and REST APIs for command-and-control operations. The system supported multi-plant deployments with secure, per-device authentication.

Phase 1: Protocol Design & Architecture

  • Designed hybrid MQTT + REST architecture: MQTT for high-frequency position data, REST for control commands
  • Collaborated with Hi-tech AMR vendor to understand their data format and API capabilities
  • Architected message broker infrastructure for 10Hz real-time position streaming
  • Built failover mechanisms for network interruptions and broker downtime

Phase 2: OAuth 2.0 Authentication & Multi-Plant Support

  • Implemented OAuth 2.0 per-device authentication for secure AMR-to-platform communication
  • Created credential management system for onboarding and rotating device tokens
  • Built plant-specific configuration layer for different coordinate systems and layouts
  • Designed coordinate transformation pipeline to map AMR positions to digital twin coordinates

Phase 3: Real-Time Data Streaming & Visualization

  • Engineered MQTT subscriber handling 10Hz position updates from multiple AMRs simultaneously
  • Built data normalization layer to handle vendor-specific message formats
  • Integrated with Twinzo platform for real-time visualization of robot positions on factory layout
  • Implemented status tracking for battery levels, task assignments, and error states

Phase 4: Documentation & Vendor Onboarding

  • Created comprehensive API integration documentation for AMR vendors
  • Wrote onboarding guides with step-by-step setup instructions and code examples
  • Developed troubleshooting playbook for common integration issues
  • Conducted technical training sessions with client operations team and AMR vendor engineers

Project Impact

This integration became the foundation for the manufacturer's smart factory monitoring infrastructure, enabling real-time oversight of material transport operations across multiple plants. The OAuth-based authentication system and comprehensive documentation reduced vendor onboarding time from weeks to days, making it easier to scale AMR deployments.

The Results: Real-Time Factory Floor Visibility at Scale

The integration went live in August 2024 and is now running in production at the manufacturer's facilities:

  • 10Hz real-time tracking: Position data updated 10 times per second for instantaneous visibility
  • Multi-plant deployment: Single platform monitoring AMRs across multiple facilities
  • Zero downtime: Built-in failover mechanisms ensure continuous monitoring even during network issues
  • Secure device authentication: OAuth 2.0 per-device tokens eliminate security vulnerabilities
  • Vendor-agnostic architecture: Documentation enables onboarding of new AMR vendors in days instead of weeks
  • Scalable infrastructure: System supports adding new robots and plants without code changes

Key Takeaway from Results

Industrial IoT integration isn't just about connecting devices—it's about building scalable, secure infrastructure that works in the real world. Good architecture and documentation pay dividends every time you add a new plant or vendor.

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Technical Stack

  • Communication Protocols: MQTT for real-time streaming, REST APIs for control commands
  • Authentication: OAuth 2.0 per-device token management
  • Integration Platform: Twinzo digital twin platform
  • Data Processing: Real-time coordinate transformation, multi-threaded message handling
  • Vendor Collaboration: Hi-tech AMR systems, automotive manufacturing operations infrastructure

Ready to Integrate Your Industrial IoT Systems?

If you're deploying IoT devices, robots, or sensors on your factory floor but can't monitor them in real-time, we can build the integration infrastructure you need. Secure, scalable, and production-ready.

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