Democratizing robotics

Automata is a London technology company, founded in January 2015 by Mostafa ElSayed and Suryansh Chandra. who want to change that. ElSayed and Chandra want to "democratize" robotics for the SME and consumer markets by providing affordable and easy to use robots and software. They have both been working at the intersection of design, technology and digital manufacturing for over seven years.

The company's first product, called Eva, is a lightweight, plug-and-play robotic arm, made of 3D printed parts. Its software is so simple it can be run off a mobile app. using a tech by example approach. Based on user feedback and in-house testing, Automata has been making changes: Eva-9 (the ninth prototype) is now awake and ready to go through long hours of repeatability, precision and payload testing.

Eva-9 is now three times as strong and four times more accurate than Eva-8. She should be able to lift 650 to 900g (based on outreach), and be repeatable down to 0.25mm. In the process, Eva-9 has put on some weight, and weighs in at 2.2kg. To own Eva will cost around $2500 to $3500. But alternative business models which are more like owning a mobile phone. You pay a monthly fee and get all hardware and software updates and replacements as part of it - this moves robots from the CapEx column to the OpEx column.

Bear in mind that the technology is not so easy to scale up, because cost rises exponentially with size, but despite this she brings robotics within the reach of many applications where "conventional" robotics is prohibited on cost grounds. Compare the quoted costs with those of conventional robotics - around $20k in hardware, $5k in software and $20k in integration, albeit these providing much larger payloads and greater precision. Expensive robots also need to be protected against theft and insured.

ElSayed and Chandra believe robotic automation in small businesses and individual users can bring a huge amount of creativity in addition to enhancing productivity. Over the coming years, these will change the way we live and work. But first, these robots need to become a whole lot easier to use, safer to work beside, and substantially more affordable. They describe Eva as an assistant that can give you a helping hand in a variety of uses whether you're a business, hobbyist, or an educator.