Dutch clean energy conglomerate Koolen Industries has made an investment in the also Dutch robotics startup Aziobot. By doing so, it wants to help the company expand its team to smooth the introduction of autonomous cleaning robots to the market.
Two years ago, CEO Kees Koolen also invested in the Den Bosch-based start-up Aziobot, enabling the company to develop its first artificial intelligence product: the autonomous floor scrubber SB2, designed for use in shops, hospitals and restaurants, amongst other places. “Aziobot has grown rapidly through a challenging AI development phase and has come up with machines that appear simple but are in fact highly complex,” says Kees Koolen in a press release. “I am very impressed, not least because the technology they have developed can be applied in many other industrial sectors.”
Read also: 7% European companies deploy service robot.
Accelerate energy transition
Conversely, they at Aziobot are obviously happy with the investment. "To work with Koolen during our start-up period has opened our eyes to the potential of our software, not only in our original sectors, but in a lot of other areas. Being part of this clean energy conglomerate can help us reach our full potential as we continue to focus on research and development," said Sarthak Yadav, CEO and co-founder of Aziobot.
Koolen believes the cleaning robot will help his company grow in the coming years. “I am hopeful that Aziobot’s software can help accelerate the energy transition. Automation will play a vital role in all sorts of technological innovations, giving everyone access to both clean energy and user-friendly solutions. It goes without saying that Sarthak and his team have developed extremely valuable software for this purpose and possess a great deal of in-house expertise in AI.”
Autonomous
"The SB2 is basically a self-driving vehicle but because it is a floor cleaner, Aziobot's autonomous software can be tested in safe environments away from traffic," Yadav said. "The market may not be ready for self-driving cars yet, partly because regulation lags behind. But we can think of many other forms of autonomous solutions that will make our lives easier. By focusing on this, we can become a leading developer of this kind of technology and if the market and laws and regulations are in place, we can use this to support the automotive industry as well."
Super B batteries
The SB2 is powered by lithium Super B batteries from Koolen Industries' subsidiary Super B, which has been assisting Aziobot since its inception. "Thanks to the Super B batteries, we are far ahead of our competitors. We can keep the SB2 running for four hours at a stretch and the machine is recharged within an hour. Although the SB2 is compact, this allows it to clean large areas.
Source: Koolen Industries/Aziobot
