Robots are no longer just mythical machines from science fiction.  from self-driving cars to flying drones, robots are on the move. Robots are developing in almost every area, from agriculture, manufacture and medicine to the military, education and our own homes. As a  start-up I’m particularly excited by the opportunities and business potential within this fledgling industry.

I’ve spent the past week in California with a group of 8 small and medium sized companies, discovering the latest and greatest in robotics. The week-long trip, organised by the Technology Strategy Board, has been a privileged behind-the-scenes tour of the industry, witnessing state of the art robotics and contemplating the growing opportunities in this brave new world.

Consumer goods or industry solutions?

The robotics industry is only at the beginning of its journey, and robotics in the real world is really only just beginning  – a notion that was emphasised by Dr. Todd Hylton, Senior Vice President at Brain Corp, during a debate on the future of robotics. ‘How many robots have you seen today?’ asked Todd. We can of course expect this to change in the not-too-distant future, with Brain Corp and dozens of other companies now on a mission to help grow this day-to-day interaction from zero to many for the average citizen.

A popular view is that robots are going to be the next mass consumer wave, following on from laptops, smartphones and tablets. Personally I feel differently. Whilst I believe some robots are going to break into mass markets this way, I think the real impact of robotics is going to be surprising and will have a broader impact in society.  Robotics is about convergence from a much wider base of science and technology,  ranging from material science, software, psychology, and even biology.  As such, the way these come together I think is going to create new products, services and technologies that are going to be as amazing as they will be hard to predict.

A visit to Stanford Research Institute highlights this view. One project in progress is the totally astounding micro manufacturing robots. These tiny robotic workers are building super materials, developing one tiny piece at a time.  This technology uses physics, electronics, material science and programming techniques that are all pretty basic when looked at independently. However, when you bring them together something completely new emerges. I believe this will be a common story as robotics develops.

Preparing for the future

My company, Agilic Ltd, is in the process of developing robotic solutions for use in education. Engaging individuals in robotics at an early age will, I believe, help shape an increasingly robotic-centric society that can continue the development of robot technology to deliver freedom and intelligence in the future.

When it comes to start-ups, I believe that there are boundless opportunities within the robotics industry – from developing new technology to identifying market applications for robotics. It really is a booming industry, and I’m incredibly excited to help it evolve over the next few years.

By Harry Gee, Director, Agilic Ltd

This article originally appeared in Electronics Weekly (08 July)

The first stop on the Technology Strategy Board’s Robotics Mission to California was San Diego, the 8^th largest city in the US with the 17^th largest economy, largely driven by the tourism, innovation and the defence sectors.

Our first day on the Mission always promised to be an interesting day with visits to the robotic research labs of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the local chapter of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).

AUVSI has grown to become the world’s largest non-profit organisation devoted exclusively to advancing the unmanned systems and robotics community and will often represent their industries views to Congress.

When the US Government mandated the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to open the US skies to unmanned aircraft by 2015, AUVSI released a study that found 100,000 jobs would be created and that the associated economic impact of $82 billion would be realised within 10 years as a result.

So for three of our Mission companies, the opportunity to meet up with some of the world’s leading Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) developers at the centre of one of the world’s largest and most progressive markets for UAS is quite a ‘big deal’. Each have developed new technologies that could unlock the widespread adoption of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for civil applications by increasing flight times, reducing weight and size and designing in safety.

Remote Operate Aerial Endurance Vehicles

Multi-rotor copters are becoming the UAS of choice, mainly because of their availability and price. Around $500 will get you a top of the range fully loaded quadcopter with GPS, auto-pilot and controller. However, flight times are fairly limited, around 15-20 minutes at best. AuraTech has developed Remote Operate Aerial Endurance Vehicle (ROAEV) which boasts flight times in excess of 12 hours. These devices will not only make remote inspection and the process of surveying more efficient, but they can now be thought of as platforms for service delivery.

Maplebird is in the process of developing the smallest UAS in the world and they are doing this by turning to nature. Their device is smaller and lighter than an average smart phone and achieves flight through flapping insect-like wings at incredible frequencies. By drawing inspiration from the humble honey bee, not only is flight incredibly power efficient, but it is also highly controllable, making its ability to cope with windy conditions second to none. Such a small UAS inevitably means that the power available to the onboard sensors is limited. The solution has once again been found by nature which has enabled Maplebird to develop energy efficient navigation and collision avoidance systems. This tiny bio-inspired device is not only well suited for industrial plant inspection or the emergency services, but also, rather fittingly, could be used to help with agricultural pollination.

Hiding the complexity of Formal Methods

D-RisQ is in the business of proving that software systems work. This is considerably more difficult to do than it sounds, especially when the software systems learn. However, the software design tools that D-RisQ have developed hide the complexity of Formal Methods from the software developers and allow them to focus on capturing system requirements. Their suite of tools is then able to test the software for failure modes and can verify and qualify that all the requirements have been met. The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are particularly interested in D-RisQ’s technology. If the CAA’s set of regulations for civil airspace can drive the requirements for UAS onboard software then it is finally possible to rapidly certify UAS as safe to fly. Not only that, it will also be possible to certify that fully autonomous UAS operating beyond the visual line of sight (BVLoS) of the operator are also safe to fly. This is a game changer, not only for the UAS industry, but also for every other sector that is looking to certify autonomous robots, whether in agriculture, assisted living, blue light services, healthcare, manufacturing, transport or space.

The first day of the Mission proved to be a very interesting day indeed.

By Phil Williams, the programme manager of the UK Robotics & Autonomous Systems SIG 

This blog originally appeared in Electronics Weekly (04 July 2014)