AMRs for Parts Moves in a Small Boatyard: Floor Checks

Can an AMR run parts moves on wet, uneven boatyard concrete?

An AMR can carry parts between hull staging and a shop in a small boatyard, but only after the route passes a floor and weather check. Vendor datasheets set the limits that matter: slope, step height, gap width, friction and flatness. On wet, uneven concrete, grip and micro-geometry usually deserve the closest look.

We found no published data on AMR use in small boatyards, and no slab tolerance data for wet yard concrete beyond vendor datasheets. The case therefore has to rest on the robot's published limits and on measurements taken in your own yard.

Start with a walk, not a catalog. Map the route, measure it, test it wet, and compare the robot's ratings with the conditions the yard actually sees.

What floor limits do AMR vendors publish?

Omron, whose HD-1500 datasheet we checked as of November 2026, references flatness to ACI 117 at FF25 and lists a 3% maximum slope, a 10 mm maximum traversable step, a 20 mm maximum traversable gap and a minimum friction coefficient of 0.6 on a 3% incline. These are vendor-reported figures, so confirm them against the exact model before planning a route.

The same vendor's MD Series allows an 8.75% incline with a friction target of 0.8 on inclines, which shows how far limits can differ between models. A route that suits one robot may not suit another, so the walk should be checked against the chosen model's sheet.

Why do flatness numbers miss wet, uneven slabs?

Flatness is only part of the story. CoGri Group, a commentator on AMRs and flooring, argues that floors must be checked for wheel grip during starting and stopping, and for impact damage at slab edges and joints. It also argues that traditional flatness standards do not capture micro-geometry effects, which matter most for narrow-wheel robots.

A boatyard slab rarely behaves as one smooth plane. Expect cracked edges where stands sit, joint lips, drain grates and low spots that hold water after rain. A robot can clear a flatness test and still lose its footing in a wet hollow.

Which route checks belong on the yard walk?

Walk the route from hull staging to the shop with a tape, a straightedge and a level. Record every step, gap and slope, and mark any spot above the chosen model's limits. A single cracked joint or lifted slab edge can exceed the 10 mm step or 20 mm gap figures, so measure each one rather than estimating.

Then test the route wet. Hose the path or wait for rain, and watch how the wheels behave at each start and stop. Pay closest attention to any stretch that slopes toward the shop door, where water and grip interact most.

How do weather ratings apply to an outdoor-adjacent yard?

Published ratings vary, and each describes a single robot under test conditions. The Seekur Jr datasheet, revision B, lists IP54 and an operating range of -5°C to 35°C, as checked in November 2026. That IP54 figure is the one to read against yard exposure.

Roboticstomorrow's spec-sheet guide, published in September 2026, explains that IP54 means limited dust ingress and splash protection, not wash-down or heavy-rain protection. It also notes that operating temperature and power-on temperature can differ, and that a platform with a range starting at -20°C should still be powered on at 0°C or above.

For a boatyard, keep hose-down away from the robot, plan a sheltered charging spot, and check the power-on minimum against the coldest morning the yard expects. The published rating is the only claim the manufacturer makes about it.

Does material flow justify the robot?

A robot pays only when parts reach it on time. Drydock Magazine's analysis of shipyard automation lists material transport among robot work already running commercially, and it warns that material flow is a constraint: when material arrives late, expensive robots sit idle. Map the hull-staging handoff and the shop's pick point before you map the floor.

Shipyards are already testing autonomous equipment, though not always for transport. Damen Shiprepair Dunkerque took delivery of five autonomous mobile blast-and-paint robots in February 2025, according to Damen's project page, and those units handle surface treatment rather than moving material. A 2021 Flinders University thesis studied autonomous ground vehicles, and possibly drones, for moving components around a shipyard to cut costs and reduce heavy lifting.

How should a small yard test one route first?

Start with one route and one robot. Choose the hull-staging-to-shop path that carries the most parts with the least foot traffic, and measure it before any equipment arrives. Service Robot Co. is a vendor-neutral robot integrator: our engineers run the site assessment and mapping, pick the right robot across manufacturers, and then lease, deploy, integrate, train and service it through a nationwide US engineer network.

Our offer is a 3-year lease, with one fixed lease quote given after a site assessment, so the yard gets one number and one partner for the whole lifecycle. Keep the first route small enough that a fault affects one path, not the whole yard.

What should the yard confirm before an AMR is considered?

Before any robot is considered, the walk should leave a written record. Four items answer questions that a datasheet cannot.

• A named person who clears standing water and debris from the route every day, since a clean route is part of the robot's grip.
• A written route log for the first weeks, tying each stop or fault to a marked spot on the slab.
• A photographed map of every drain grate, joint lip and slab edge the route crosses, with measurements.
• A go or no-go rule: any spot outside the chosen model's limits gets fixed first or is dropped from the route.