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MAB Robotics – Company Profile
| City: | Poznan | State: Wielkopolska |
CA |
| Country: | Poland | # of Employees: |
8 |
| URL: | www.mabrobotics.pl | Founded: |
2019 |
Management – Łukasz Antczak (CEO), Jakub Bartoszek (R&D Robotics Engineer), and Jakub Matyszczak (Mechatronics Engineer)
Funding Status – MAB Robotics has received a seed round of ~$250K. The company is seeking additional funding.
MAB’s solution surpasses any wheeled or tracked vehicle in dexterity, flexibility and obstacle avoidance, while providing stability unachievable by flying robots.
MAB Robotics – Offerings Profile
Primary Target Markets – 1) Construction, 2) Mining, and 3) Energy
Technology / Product / Service(s) – MAB Robotics is developing small, agile, teleoperated quadrupedal robots designed to be a universal sensor platform for inspection and maintenance operations in underground tunnels. Walking will enable the robot to traverse most obstacles (rubble, garbage etc.) found in the tunnels. Both robot and communication modules will be ruggedized and designed for work in harsh environments (water and dust proof, for example).
Initially robots will carry cameras for visual inspection and mapping. Over time the robot will be equipped with an arm that will make maintenance work possible, along with a 3D sensor that will enable mapping of tunnel geometry and heat distribution patterns.
The MAB robot will be operated remotely from a station located at the entrance of the tunnel. No cables need to be tugged behind, leading to increased range and agility. The station will provide the operator with live feed from robots cameras, as well as all information needed to perform the inspection.
Value Proposition – Wheeled and tracked robots employing phonometry are often used for the inspection of heating networks. But, wheeled and tracked robots have difficulties performing on uneven and cluttered ground of the tunnels, so trenching, site preparation and environmental remediation is required. This increases the cost of inspection substantionally.
Many of the mobile robots used for inspection employ cables for power and communication, and turns in the tunnel, along with debris, can make the process difficult. Cabling also limits the inspection range, thereby generating a high per-meter inspection cost due to the necessity of excavations. In addition, phonometry can be used only to detect existing major damage and leaks, but it is inaccurate in many circumstances, and does not provide any details.
MAB Robotics’ proposed inspection system will address the challenges given above. MAB’s solution surpasses any wheeled or tracked vehicle in terms of dexterity, flexibility and obstacle avoidance, while providing stability unachievable by flying robots. MAB Robotics’ legged system can negotiate rubble and other obstacles, and can perform inspections without trenching, thereby reducing the preparation cost and environmental impact.
Robotic inspection of heating networks is performed with phonometry (this can only discover that a pipe is already leaking) and teleoperated wheeled platforms.
Demand Drivers – Inspection and service work in underground tunnels is the poster child for work that is “dirty, dull and dangerous”. It is also time consuming and costly, and therefore an excellent prospect for robotic automation. MAB Robotics was founded to meet the increasing demand, often mandated by law, for inspection and service work in underground systems.
MAB is focused on ensuring their services are affordable. Clients will only pay for the inspection results without worrying about robot maintenance and operation cost.
MAB Robotics – Business Model(s) and Competition
Business Model – MAB Robotics will utilize IaaS (Inspection as a Service) and HaaS (Hardware as a Service) business models to make their inspection systems available. This will allow their customers to implement the technology quickly, with minimal up-front costs. Additionally, their clients can scale the service, depending on need.
MAB is focused on ensuring their services are affordable. Clients will only pay for the inspection results without worrying about robot maintenance and operation cost.
MAB Robotics’ services strategy ensures a stable source of income for the company. All robots will be owned and maintained by the company, and operators will be all trained in MAB, lowering the risk of misuse and hardware damage during work.
Partners – Not at this time.
Customers – MAB Robotics has many years experience designing electronics for robotics, industrial systems and embedded applications and has customers for those solutions. As yet, the company does not have clients for their legged inspection robots, but MAB does sell MAB robotic components which the company has developed for other projects. Our main products are controllers for BLDC motors which provide torque, position, speed, and impedance control methods.
Competitive Landscape – Legged robots from ANYbotics and Boston Dynamics can be used for underground tunnel inspections. Drone services companies such as Flyability are also targeting the industrial inspection market.
MAB Robotics – Recent News
- MAB Robotics Bare Metal Walking Robot Prototype
- Legged Robots: Actuators Comparison
- MAB Robotics a Winner at 2021 European Economic Congress Start-up Challenge
- Walking Robots Need Contact Detection
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