Robosurf: German-Italian painting robot ahead of roadshow

Robotics in construction is still an exception. This website tries to counteract this and show what is available. In the field of painting, for example, Okibo from Israel and ConBotics from Berlin were presented here. Disappointingly little for such a large market with increasing personnel shortages, one might think.

After the recent article about Okibo, including criticism of the industry for doing too little, Patrick Machill contacted me. Robosurf has been working on autonomous mobile robots for machining surfaces for construction and industry since 2018. Robosurf, he says, has worked on more than 20 construction sites in field trials over the past year. Robosurf's Craftsman robot can not only paint, but also sand.

Unusual startup

While many startups "drum up" early on, if only to attract investors, Robosurf has not sought the big stage so far. Financed by development contracts for third-party companies in the field of mobile robotics, it has largely been able to finance itself since its founding in 2019. Bootstrapping, as the technical term for self-financing, has the consequence that the market entry is delayed a little, but the founders remain masters in their own house for the time being. This is the case with Robosurf. The company has its headquarters near Pisa and sales offices in Hamburg and Barcelona. This is due to the internationality of the founders, but also to the close connection to the University of Pisa, which has a focus on robotics and automation. 

One came to painting via a detour

Startup textbooks always call for flexibility. This can also be found at Robosurf. Automation for the processing of surfaces with autonomous mobile robot systems has begun in shipbuilding. Due to the complex geometries involved, the cladding of ship hulls is very time and material consuming. One square meter of hull cladding on a superyacht can take up to 25 hours of time. This is where the robot should come in.

Due to the sheer size of mobile robot systems for shipbuilding, Robosurf decided to design smaller and lighter mobile robots for machining surfaces. Thus, the field of building trades was identified. However, the necessary domain knowledge was lacking here. After all, a painter's apprenticeship lasts 3 years. By working with one of the leading consultancies in the building trade, Wertschöpfer GmbH from Reutlingen, the necessary knowledge of the trade was gained and the requirements in terms of quality and execution quality were exceeded. Particularly important to all involved was the simplicity of operation without the need for specially trained technicians. Robosurf and the value creators have extensively tested the simplicity of operation in various jobsite situations with apprentices, journeymen and foremen. The new form of division of labor between humans and robots was visibly enjoyed by those involved and led to a significant reduction in workload. What was exciting for companies in the construction trade was the consistently high quality of work performed with a three- to fourfold increase in productivity.

Painting walls is not enough

To be able to paint, the substrate must be suitable for the new coating. Sanding is often necessary for this. A complex task, as the special offers available on the market show. Robosurf developed its own sanding methodology for walls. Another very complex task is painting overhead. Here, too, sanding must be done beforehand, which is why they developed their own solution for sanding on walls and ceilings. And of course, the standardized robot arm should also be mobile. When it comes to mobility, the founders had a great deal of know-how due to the in-house development of AMR's, so they use their own mobile robot. Of course, they use the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence, e.g. for path optimization, analyses and Qulitätskontrollen in connection with cameras.

Robot arm from Kuka

In pictures on the Internet you can see an industrial robot from Kuka. At the manufacturer, Robosurf is flexible and also uses Universal Robots. Similar to cars, there is no one vehicle that meets all requirements. Therefore, Robosurf offers different robot systems for different requirements based on its modular model platform. Important is a payload of at least 10 kg (grinding requires pressure) and a suitable reach. Currently, the largest version can handle a height of 4.5 m.
This would even cover apartments in old buildings - and more importantly - many commercial areas.

Safety when employees work with the robot is Robosurf's top priority. In addition to special safety protocols when integrating an industrial robot, co-bots complement the fleet with their specific benefits for occupational safety. Overall, CE certification is close to completion. 

Market launch approaching - business model

As mentioned, various mobile robot systems have been developed and sold. The Robosurf craftsman robot has been tested and optimized on more than 20 construction sites. In addition to selling the robots to initial customers and strategic partners, the company is also aiming to rent or RaaS them.

Contracts for the industrialization of production are already in place, as are contracts for global service levels. A first round of financing is also about to be concluded to fund further product development and launch the market entry.  

So Robsurf is already far along and plans to launch the product soon. A roadshow is scheduled beforehand.

Are we networking? LinkedIn
-> Go to the Cobot group on LinkedIn (link). The author is also a consultant (robotics, tech & finance). Hardly anyone is likely to have a comparable market overview. Thanks to state subsidies, SMEs have the opportunity of a company tour with concrete recommendations etc. at a flat rate of 1,750 € incl. travel.