Vecna Technologies Inc., with its roots as a software and solutions company, has recently begun targeting the robotics industry. The privately held company’s newly formed robotics division comprises a 13-person team working on robotic technology and subsystems. Founded in 1999 by MIT alumni, Vecna, with offices near Washington, D.C., and in Cambridge, Mass., is well-located to support its four solutions groups: business, healthcare, government, and robotics.

Vecna’s first robotics project was the Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot, or BEAR. The BEAR was initially funded by the U.S. Army’s Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), part of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC). With defense funding to jump-start the BEAR project, the company was able to branch out into other robot application areas.

Defense funding is not the primary source of Vecna’s revenue. The company operates on a contract basis with a number of semicommercialized software and IT products. Vecna’s healthcare and business/government divisions provide software development and IT services to private sector companies and government organizations. Many of the company’s software projects address healthcare, including customer portals, billing systems, and infectious disease tracking.

Vecna’s overall goal is to stay self-sufficient and self-funded without need for venture capital investment or losing ownership of the company.