Managing Director and Co-Founder of Waku Robotics.
(Photo: WAKU ROBOTICS)
Munich Most businesses could benefit from more automation – but where should they start? The new, rapidly growing market for mobile robots is confusing. “There are an enormous number of players who also use very different technologies,” says Victor Splittgerber, co-founder of the start-up Waku Robotics.
Many medium-sized companies are overwhelmed when they want to use robots for the first time, for example to put together customer orders or for building cleaning. In recent years there have been many special individual developments: “It was very confusing for medium-sized companies that wanted to use a robot for the first time,” says Splittgerber. This is another reason why mobile robots are only slowly gaining acceptance.
Waku Robotics wants to remedy the situation. The Dresden-based company has more than 250 robots from around 200 manufacturers on offer on its digital platform “Lots of Bots” and advises customers on choosing the right solution.
For new users, it is usually difficult to then integrate the robots into the work processes. Waku Robotics also acts as an automation consultant here.
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Once the robots have arrived in operation and work well with humans and computer systems, the robots should be constantly monitored and optimized during use. Waku Robotics also offers a software solution for this.
Waku Robotics wants to provide medium-sized companies with all-round robots
The sales, which will multiply every year and should reach the seven-digit range next year, come from three sources: from advice, from commissions for sales on the platform and from income from the software that coordinates the operation of the robots.
In order to continue to grow so strongly, Waku Robotics closed a successful financing round in the summer, led by proptech investor PI Labs.
In 2020, the Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen, the platform Plug and Play and the former Vattenfall manager Hans-Jürgen Cramer had already invested in the company. “Waku is the missing catalyst for an effective and efficient introduction of robots,” said Cramer.
Customers already include numerous trading and logistics companies across Europe. Splittgerber used to work for Zalando himself and is familiar with the needs of the industry.
The prerequisites for the start-up in Dresden are good: The Free State is in the process of building up the robotics cluster “Robot Valley Saxony”. “We help, for example, with investor acquisition, market development and networking with universities,” said business promoter Thomas Horn to the Handelsblatt.
The industry is growing and is relying on new sales models
According to experts, the prospects for the industry are good. According to the IFR industry association, for example, sales of mobile transport robots for logistics are likely to increase by an average of 31 percent per year to around 160,000 machines between 2020 and 2023. “We expect exciting progress in the next decade,” said IFR President Milton Guerry.
The world’s largest mail order company, Amazon, is already using more than 200,000 robots in its warehouses. In 2012, the Americans took over the warehouse robot manufacturer Kiva Systems for 775 million dollars, but are only using the robots in their own warehouses. Many other mail order companies are now retrofitting.
The increasing demand has several reasons. On the one hand, prices have fallen – for transport robots, for example, from around 150,000 to less than 50,000 euros, says Splittgerber. At the same time, sensor technology, for example, has made great strides. Autonomous driving, which is still a distant future in road traffic, is already a reality in factories.
According to Splittgerber, “Robotic as a Service” will also play a growing role in the future. The companies would then rent their robots, complete with advice and software, instead of buying them. Then they would always have access to the latest technology – and could leave maintenance in the hands of the robotics experts.
More: Record sales for robots in sight