Japan

XELA Robotics

Year 2019 2019 Winner | Venture Winner Science Start-ups (Falling Walls Venture)

Presented by
Tito Pradhono Tomo

Nominated by
Waseda University

In Industry 4.0, robots should work with new objects every day. Currently, robots cannot grasp all objects without deforming or dropping them. We enable robots to grasp anything like humans do. We make skin sensors for robot hands and grippers that provide crucial feedback about the grasp. The robot can for example work in a warehouse, and grasp all objects and put them securely in a box. This can be used by logistics companies (e.g. Amazon), which currently still have to rely on human work. Amazon alone would save 2 billion USD in the 1st year by using picking robots.

We provide more and better information about the grasped object, and our sensors are easier to integrate in existing grippers and hands. In particular, we are the only company that makes 3-axis sensors that are small enough to be integrated in robot skin. Other sensors provide 1-axis information (pressure distribution), but only distributed 3-axis sensors provide information about the shape, weight and grasping state. 4 wires are enough to get information from many sensors. Other sensors require a lot of cables, making the integration too difficult. Our sensors are robust, while other tactile sensors easily break in the case of overload. Our sensors are soft, increasing the grasp stability. Our sensors are easy to produce, and are therefore not only better, but also cheaper than the competition.

Many companies focus on vision, but vision does not provide information about the grasp stability, only tactile feedback can do that.