It’s no secret that in the upcoming decades, robots and Artificial Intelligence (AI) would be changing the world. All around the world, companies have already embraced this change, and have collaborated the idea of tackling people and machines.
While the world seems to have developed and embarked on this tech journey, Express Computer has scanned the horizon for a few European startups that are working on robotics, and are kind of redefining the technology landscape over the days.
Furhat Robotics
A Stockholm-based startup, Furhat Robotics is working on the next generation of social robots. Using a projection system, their robots displays life-like facial expressions onto a head-shaped display. This is specifically while speaking, listening, showing emotions and maintaining eye contact. This is being supported by the company’s custom-developed conversational AI engine. Furhat Robotics has raised around 2.4 million euros so far.
Smart Robotics
A Dutch startup, Smart Robotics develops modular collaborative robots (or cobots), that are backed by robot independent, AI-based software for deployment all across genres like logistics, packaging, e-commerce, pharma, and others.
Cobots are usually set up in a matter of minutes, and can easily be configured for special tasks. The startup was established in 2015, and as a spin-off of the Eindhoven University of Technology. As of now, the startup has raised a Series B investment supported by Toyota, in order to accelerate product roll-out.
Axiles Bionics
A Brussels-based startup, Axiles Bionics, is developing the AMP-F, oot, an innovative smart robotic ankle-foot prothesis for lower limb amputees. After about 10 years of research blending advanced robotics and human biomechanics, Axiles Bionics has managed to develop a technology that would bring back natural way of walking in people, and posture during daily activities. Last year in 2019, the startup had raised a Series A round of 2.4 million euros, to improve the quality of life of people using amputees.
CMR Surgical
Startup CMR Surgical has developed a surgical robot based on the human arm and wrist, but with a superior dexterity and precision. The robot arm, called Versius, is designed to provide surgeons with multiple robotic arms to carry out a variety of minimally invasive procedures. The startup was founded in 2014, and is backed by a 218 million euros Series C round in 2019.
Exotec Solutions
Think about the times when you have to click on ‘buy now’. Usually, in these cases, a bunch of people have to walk through endless aisles of products to pick up your next order. This purpose is solved in France with Skypods, They are robotic machines that can carry a standardised box with a payload of 30 kg, and is able to move up and down the rack, and grab a box from the shelves. This startup was founded in 2015, and has raised more than 20 million euros in Series A funding to make the platform commercially available.
Summing Up
Robotics has become quite a popular topic these days, and these startups are just paving the way forward for the same. However, at this point, what India should seek is to grow its tech base, so that we can have more and more interesting startups in a row.