Six Australian robotics startups will go head-to-head for the opportunity to travel to Boston for a one-month residency at the world’s largest independent robotics hub, MassRobotics.
Seascape Autonomy, Element Robotics, Nexobot, J Robotics, Inneurva and Traversal Labs were named the finalists of the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Hub sprint program dubbed Propel-AIR on Tuesday.
The program, launched in December, aims to grow the local robotics industry supporting promising companies to gain a crucial connection and view of the global market that can be leveraged back home.
The finalists will receive business development assistance, including VC support and media opportunities, through the ARM Hub AI Adopt Centre, one of four AI centres set up by the government last year.
- Sydney-based Seascape Autonomy, which has developed an autonomous underwater photography robot that provides images of the ocean floor used to build landscape models
- Melbourne-headquartered Element Robotics‘ Lunarsim, a digital twin that helps teams test and train robots for lunar missions with future uses beyond space in high-risk industries such as mining and remote operations
- Nexobot, which is building the world’s lowest-cost parcel sorting solution to provide automation for regional and small-scale logistics operators from Melbourne
- J Robotics, a new agricultural technology company developing smart machines to help vineyards use fewer chemicals and grow better crops, which allows them to move toward organic certification and more sustainable farming
- Inneurva, which gives robots a sense of touch using “robotic AI skin,” a soft, sensor-rich patch that captures complex tactile data to support safe, smart and intuitive interaction
- Traversal Labs, which has built an AI-powered analytics platform — MotionLogic — that transforms video from industrial settings into actionable insights to help factories reduce waste, improve ergonomics, and optimise production
ARM said the program received “unprecedented interest” from Australia’s nascent AI and robotics sector, though not all 10 finalist spots first envisaged by the robotics hubs were awarded.
The six finalists will now compete in a pitching event on 31 July. The overall winner is expected to be announced in the days after, on 4 August.
The Propel-AIR sprint was funded through the federal government’s artificial intelligence package that awarded ARM Hub $5 million to set up the AI Adopt Centre program.
Partners are also contributing another $6 million to the AI and robotics effort at ARM Hub. The additional services are aimed at manufacturers and industrial tech companies to add Microsoft and Databricks cloud storage and analytics.
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