EEVE empowers individuals to live self-sufficiently by developing personal robots. The Waregem, Belgium headquartered company combines advanced robotics with user-friendly design and develops outdoor garden robots to assist people with a range of tasks. The company’s goal is to make personal robots an accessible and valuable part of modern living, helping people to achieve greater independence and efficiency in their everyday tasks.

“We develop AI-powered personal robots with precision location capabilities to help people perform daily tasks,” explains Wesley Lorrez, the CEO of EEVE. “Our garden robots are multi-functional and easy to install compared to other garden robots such as lawn robots. We like to disrupt an existing market with state-of-the-art technology using R&D investment methodologies that also target sustainability.”

EEVE’s Willow robot cuts grass, kills weeds and can even keep an eye on the garden at night, with no need to install guide wires or antennas. Willow is able to move around yards and gardens by itself, performing repetitive or boring tasks. The robot relies on the EEVE visual positioning system backed by global navigation satellite system (GNSS) positioning to ensure location accuracy.

To achieve this, EEVE, which has been a customer of Quectel since 2018, selected the Quectel EG91 LTE module and the LC29HDA GNSS module for positioning.

“The Quectel modules helped us in two ways – communication and positioning,” confirms Lorrez. “Our Willow robot needs a high quality communication solution to make sure that customers can always connect and communicate with their robot and the Quectel EG91 is ideal for that.  For positioning Willow uses a visual positioning system but, in extreme cases, it is possible that the robot gets blinded while moving, such as if someone picks up the robot while covering the camera. In that case it is important that the robot has a 3m accurate position. The Quectel LC29HDA positioning module provides the perfect solution for our needs.”

The Quectel EG91 module series of LTE Cat 1 modules, optimized specially for M2M and IoT applications, is an ideal solution for numerous IoT applications that are not reliant on high speed connectivity but that require the longevity and reliability of the LTE network. Adopting 3GPP Rel-11 LTE technology, the modules deliver maximum data rates up to 10 Mbps downlink and 5 Mbps uplink.

Quectel’s LC29H series of dual-band, multi-constellation GNSS modules supports the concurrent reception of all four global GNSS constellations: GPS, BDS, Galileo and GLONASS. Compared to GNSS modules that track only L1 signals, the LC29H series can receive and track a higher number of visible satellites in multi bands, thereby significantly mitigating the multipath effect in deep urban canyons and improving positioning accuracy.

By having an internal LNA and SAW filter, the module achieves better sensitivity and anti-interference capability. Featuring dual frequency support, the module delivers circular error probability (CEP) accuracy values of 1m in autonomous mode and centimeter levels in the RTK capable variants. The optional dead reckoning function ensures the module’s superior positioning performance even in weak signal areas or when GNSS signals are not available.

“We’re delighted to continue our long relationship with EEVE as it deploys its Willow robots across the globe,” says Florian Bousquet, Quectel’s GNSS Sales Manager – EMEA . “It’s exciting to see the combination of positioning and communication relying on our modules in such an advanced multi-functional robot. We look forward to EEVE’s further progress as Willow adoption accelerates.”

EEVE’s multi-functional robots bring a humanoid experience to the home and are easy for users to install. Robots are currently deployed in Europe across Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. In addition, EEVE has recently started a pilot project in the USA which involves 100 active robots.

“We were attracted to Quectel by the technical specifications of the modules and their high quality and global network compatibility,” says Lorrez. “We also appreciate Quectel’s market leadership, global reach, manufacturing capability and technical support and software development assistance.”