Money and awards for cleaning robots

The last two days were focused on the financing rounds of Robco and fruitcore. Now it goes one floor lower, to the ground. Because there is positive news from two manufacturers of cleaning robots, both of which, by the way, were presented here for the first time ever. It is remarkable how the Vorwerk subsidiary Nexaro continues to use the terms "Cobot" and "Startup".

Kemaro could collect 5 million in series A

The startup Kemaro from eastern Switzerland was able to raise another CHF 5 million. The 20 employees have the industry in focus. Their robot is small, drives autonomously and sweeps. Customers in 20 countries are already being served from Thurgau. Globalization is to be accelerated with the fresh money. Although the largest investor comes from Japan, it is always remarkable for me that one of the investors is geographically close to the company.

About the K900: Autonomous mobile robotics (AMR)

The K900 dry-cleaning robot cleans autonomously and smartly, because it perceives its environment via distance measurement using optical sensors and supporting 3-D sensors. KEMARO's in-house developed robotics technology enables full autonomous operation around the clock. It cleans floors without chemicals or water. Fully autonomously, it disposes of packaging residues, industrial dust or pallet splinters. With its two large front brushes, the robot cleans without any distance to objects or walls. The exact live mapping of the room and the sophisticated navigation algorithms enable unprecedented cleaning performance and quality.

B2B vacuum cleaner Nexaro NR 1500 wins German Design Award - Gold in the "Excellent Product Design" category

The commercial cleaning market is undergoing profound change. Rising wages, labor shortages and the stigma of supposedly unattractive job profiles are weighing on the industry and making new concepts necessary. With the Nexaro NR 1500 as the core component of the Nexaro cleaning system, the Wuppertal-based technology startup Nexaro set out to revolutionize commercial cleaning. Now the vacuum robot has been awarded the German Design Award in Gold in the category "Excellent Product Design".

Wuppertal, December 2022 - Autonomous and semi-autonomous cleaning machines and the consistent digitization of work processes are becoming increasingly relevant in the contract cleaning industry. The greatest potential is offered by robotic systems that complement traditional cleaning services and allow flexible deployment, so that deployment times and cleaning priorities can be adapted to customer needs. The autonomous suction robot Nexaro NR 1500, as the core component of the cleaning system consisting of a suction robot and the innovative control software Nexaro HUB, has all the prerequisites to become a game changer. The look and feel of the suction robot has now been honored by the jury of the German Design Awards.

The design not only makes the Nexaro NR 1500 a real eye-catcher, but also offers the best conditions for performing its tasks as ideally as possible. The characteristic D-shape of the Nexaro NR 1500 was specially developed for cleaning as close to the edges as possible and for maneuverability, in order to relieve cleaning personnel of the strenuous dry floor cleaning almost completely and thus relieve them of the burden. Although designed and approved for professional building cleaning, the suction robot from Nexaro with its compact dimensions of approx. 34 by 34 centimeters is significantly smaller than common autonomous or semi-autonomous suction robots on the market. This means that it can be integrated into the working environment without interference and also offers the greatest possible flexibility thanks to its easy transportability - whether used individually or as a fleet.

These advantages also convinced the international jury of the German Design Awards, which has now awarded the Nexaro NR 1500 gold in the category "Excellent Product Design - Industry". The German Design Award is one of the most prestigious awards in the design landscape across all industries and has been presented by the German Design Council since 2012. Every year, around 4,500 products and projects from all over the world are submitted, of which only the best are awarded prizes. The Gold Award is the highest honor of the German Design Awards and is awarded for an excellent, holistic and innovative design achievement.

With the Nexaro Cobotics system solution, this goes far beyond the individual components of the approach. Because within the holistic Nexaro approach, cobotics stands for genuine cooperation between humans and state-of-the-art, autonomous robot technology, which not only enables an increase in efficiency and quality while reducing costs, but also relieves the cleaning staff by eliminating the particularly strenuous dry floor cleaning and work during off-peak hours - especially at night. And it pays off: model calculations show a cost reduction of around 35% compared with conventional structures with traditional staff deployment. "The fact that Nexaro's primary goal with its vacuum cleaning robot is not to replace human personnel, but to proactively support them, is credible and is also made clear by the likeable designation 'Cobot' instead of 'Robot.' In this positive sense, the autonomous vacuum cleaning robot Nexaro NR 1500 has the potential to transform commercial cleaning into a new era of technology," the jury wrote in its verdict.

"We are very pleased to receive the German Design Award," says Dr. Henning Hayn from Nexaro's management team. "From the very beginning of development, our cobotics approach was conceived holistically: on the one hand, we wanted to develop a solution to the two most pressing problems facing the contract cleaning industry, namely the labor shortage and the pressure on costs and margins. On the other hand, we wanted to develop a product that not only technically but also visually meets all requirements and fits harmoniously into everyday working life - whether in hotels, in stores or in modernly furnished offices. The award from the German Design Council is a great confirmation that we have succeeded in doing just that and that we are on the right track with the Nexaro cobotics approach."

Are we networking? LinkedIn
-> To the Cobot group on LinkedIn (Link)

In my own account/advertisement
The author of this blog is significantly involved in the AI/robotics project Opdra. He advises SMEs around robotics - up to 50% funding for consulting is possible. Permanently looking for interesting solutions, he has seen hundreds of applications. For this reason, his customers also include large companies that have know-how but do not know the entire market. You can find more about him here.