With the welcome arrival of new organisations to our membership in recent months, we are introducing them, a few at a time, and in their own words, via our newsletter. This month we welcome KELO Robotics GmbH from Augsburg, Germany, and the UK’s Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA), based in London.
Website: kelo-robotics.com
In a nutshell…
KELO Robotics is a start-up in the field of autonomous mobile logistics robots (AMRs) and mobile manipulation located in Augsburg, Germany founded in 2020. Based on a disruptive design concept adopted from automotive industry KELO Robotics has developed a new generation of mobile logistics robots.
Development of collaborative and resilient mobile service robots, especially for logistics applications.
In more detail
“Our robots differ from existing solutions in three respects: a) they are cost-efficient and not only affordable to large logistics enterprises but also to smaller organizations and institutions with a strong need to automate their intralogistics b) they are inherently safe – they can be easily pushed aside if they approach a human in an undesired way – and c) they can be customised to the needs of customers and the legacy of existing intralogistics solutions in a very short time at rather limited costs.”
Website: aria.org.uk
In a nutshell…
Created by an Act of Parliament, and sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, The Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) will fund projects across the full spectrum of R&D disciplines, approaches, and institutions.
ARIA’s programmes and projects are directed by its Programme Directors, scientific and technical leaders with deep expertise and a focused, creative vision for how technology can enable a better future.
ARIA’s Smarter Robot Bodies initiative, directed by Jenny Read, provides funding for projects that push the boundaries of robotic hardware.
In more detail
“Our £53 million Robot Dexterity Programme, within ARIA’s Smarter Robot Bodies initiative, funds breakthroughs in robotic hardware for transformative dexterity improvements. We also support research in modularity, interoperability, and the socio-economic impacts of robotics.
The robot dexterity programme will focus on improving robotic dexterity primarily through advances in hardware. We plan to support development of new modes of sensing, transmission of sensory information, and actuation through hardware advances that benefit from co-design and integration with advanced software and controls.
In the early stages of the programme, we anticipate funding advances in individual components, e.g. actuation or sensing, in isolation. In later stages, we would combine advances made both within and beyond the programme to develop new manipulators, demonstrating a paradigm-shift in robotic abilities and establishing the basis for a powerful new industry that can help society better address the labour challenges of tomorrow.
We also recently closed a call for funding for our ‘Smarter Robot Bodies’ Seeds, providing up to £500k (per project) to support high potential ideas that sit outside the robot dexterity space. These ideas aim to exploit progress in AI, control, materials, and manufacturing to produce improved robotic hardware that approaches or even exceeds the capabilities of living bodies.
Facilitating modularity, interoperability, and common standards within robotics:
We have also launched a call for an expert committee to support work in facilitating modularity, interoperability, and common standards within robotics.
Through the support of this committee we’re seeking to gain clarity on:
- In which areas would improved software and hardware modularity lead to major time and cost savings?
- Which bodies need to be convened in order to facilitate breakthroughs in these three areas?
- Which specific standards are required and who is best placed to create them?”
For more information, visit aria/opportunity spaces/smarter robot bodies