The most successful companies typically directly address challenges faced by various communities and stakeholders. A startup’s path to success is unique and special as a result of the passionate efforts of its entrepreneurs.In this article, based in the Czech Republic robot twinA revolutionary robotic automation start-up, on its way from industry impulse to validation to first-generation products.
RoboTwin builds a motion-mimicking robotic automation solution
Automation is nothing new. Many industries are developing and adopting automation technology. A typical example is a robot working on a conveyor belt. A typical approach to automation replaces trained workers with ‘generic’ robots. This means that the know-how and experience of trained professionals is lost for special jobs such as spray painting or coating.
Co-founding team of RoboTwin. From left to right: Ladislav Dvořák, Megi Mejdrechová and David Polák.
RoboTwin offers an alternative approach to automation based on motion tracking and imitation, allowing specialized workers to take on other meaningful tasks. While an experienced worker demonstrates the painting job on the first product in the series, RoboTwin tracks the worker’s movements and processes this data into a robotics program. The robot can then mimic the exact movements and finish other products in the series.
Preparation: Before starting motion teaching
The end result: a robotic arm mimics manual spray coating
Founder Profile: Megi Mejdrechová, Co-Founder and CTO of RoboTwin
For some people, entrepreneurship is a calling. But her Megi Mejdrechová, a Czech engineer, she does not put herself in this category. Had she asked her a few years ago, she would have replied that her entrepreneurial spirit did not appeal to her. She enjoyed the more analytical and technical nature of the engineering field.
One question helped her decision to co-found RoboTwin in 2020. Was she creating something useful that would improve industry, the environment, or people’s lives?
When she finished her studies, she found the answer to this question in her hands. A place”. Her ability to follow her own beliefs and create her positive impact ultimately made her entrepreneurial spirit appealing to her.
Being a young woman in a male-dominated tech field only makes the challenge even harder. But Mejdrechová doesn’t see it that way. You will be more visible, people will be interested and you will be part of a strong community of female co-founders who are very supportive and welcoming. ”
The Journey of the Robotwin — From Prototype to Market
Teach the robot to draw through motion imitation.
In 2019, a Czech spray painting company approached the Czech Technical University. The company’s purely manual process meant employees manually spray-painted the entire series of products. Additionally, these processes were not scalable and the company had to turn down orders due to staffing shortages. Having not found a suitable solution on the market, they turned to universities.
It soon became clear that most of the 250 small and medium-sized paint shops in the Czech Republic alone still spray paint manually. Many companies would like to robotize their production, but due to the specialized nature of their portfolio this is either impossible or expensive and inefficient.
Mejdrechová, then a student at the Czech Technical University, took on the challenge of developing a solution. Her goal is to automate manufacturing, which still relies on human labor, and reduce the time spent doing repetitive tasks in unhealthy or toxic environments.
“I was very excited about this topic and took it seriously. It was completely unacceptable to me that so many people are still working in this situation,” Mejdrechová said. increase. She designed an easy and efficient way to robotize small scale industrial painting. By consulting her paint shop, we were able to focus on her user-friendly solutions. ” In the end, we managed to test the prototype directly in the paint cell. RoboTwin’s solution is based on this technology.
RoboTwin Impresses Startup Community – From EIT Jumpstarter to ViennaUP’22
In 2022, the RoboTwin team spent five days in Vienna as part of the Discover Vienna: Manufacturing Edition program during the ViennaUP’22 startup festival. The program provides support for promising industrial start-ups from Central and Eastern Europe to enter the Austrian market.
Dr. Megi Mejdrechová (right) wins first prize at EIT Manufacturing’s BoostUp! East 2022 competition © Matthias Heschl
At Discover Vienna, RoboTwin participated in BoostUp! A regional edition of the EIT manufacturing startup and scale-up competition. They won first prize in his SwitchOn category, a competition for early stage startups. As part of the prize, RoboTwin received four months of support from his EIT Manufacturing tailored to the needs of individual startups. For RoboTwin, the focus was on development strategy formulation and deliverables such as business plans, income statements, cash flow sheets and pitch decks.
This support has proven valuable for the Czech start-up. We trust them and discuss our doubts openly and to the point,” she says Megi Mejdrechová.
In 2022, Mejdrechová and her startup RoboTwin were selected and won the EIT Manufacturing RIS LEADERS. LEADERS is a competition for female manufacturing innovators in European countries with a medium to medium level of innovation under the Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS).
Dr. Megi Mejdrechová, co-founder and CTO of RoboTwin, was honored by the EIT Manufacturing RIS for her role as a female innovator in manufacturing.
RoboTwin has also submitted EIT Manufacturing’s Call for Proposals 2023 to support innovative manufacturing-related projects in the prototype stage with the goal of bringing a product to market within a year.
“The year I am working on the project has been more exciting than the previous one. Thanks to the various support from EIT Manufacturing, I believe we have everything to keep this trend going in 2023. We believe the funding provided will bring RoboTwin to market and automate difficult, unhealthy and repetitive jobs in manufacturing worldwide.We were fortunate to have support from EIT Manufacturing CLC East. Their support is invaluable.”
– Megi Mejdrechová, Co-founder and CTO of RoboTwin
EIT Manufacturing — Innovate!
EIT manufacturing is one of nine Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) supported by the European Union Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT), an institution of the European Union. It connects start-ups, companies, research centers and universities to strengthen cooperation in the European manufacturing ecosystem. We are focused on building innovation ecosystems for manufacturing that add unique value to products, processes and services and inspire the creation of globally competitive and sustainable manufacturing.
Based in Vienna, EIT Manufacturing’s Co-Location Center (CLC) East is one of six innovation hubs in seven countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
Are you a startup or company interested in working or collaborating with RoboTwin? Contact the team Connect via LinkedIn Or directly from your email at:
- info@robotwin.cz
- megi.mejdrechova@robotwin.cz
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