Indian autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) manufacturer Ati Motors raises $10.85 million from investors. Among other things, the company wants to use the money to expand into other markets, including the European market.
Ati Motors is a company founded in 2017 by Saurabh Chandra, Vinay V and Saad Nasser. The company is now headed by Chandra, after V and Nasser quit Ati Motors. The company focuses on manufacturing AMRs for use in industrial environments and automating warehouses.
Sherpa Tug
The Indian manufacturer offers two products: the Sherpa Tug and the Sherpa RollerTop. The Sherpa Tug is a robot that transports trolleys in warehouses. In doing so, the robot can pull several trolleys at once, with a maximum load of 1,000 kg. Characteristically, the Sherpa Tug can adapt to existing trolleys already in use in warehouses. The robot is fully electric.
In addition, the Sherpa Tug is suitable for use in a variety of environments. For instance, the robot has relatively high ground clearance and suspension, allowing it to navigate over rails and thresholds, among other things. The robot is also suitable for use in outdoor environments. The robot can operate in a temperature of 5 to 40 degrees Celsius, at a humidity of 5 to 90%. The robot is splash-proof.
The Sherpa Tug's battery has a battery life of eight hours. Charging time is about two hours. The battery is easily replaceable, making it possible to make a depleted battery of a Sherpa Tug immediately usable again.
Sherpa RollerTop
The second product is the Sherpa RollerTop. This is a robot that offers the capabilities of the Sherpa platform in a compact size. The robot is equipped with a conveyor belt at the top, which allows it to independently load or unload product. Among other things, this enables end-to-end automation.
The Sherpa RollerTop can navigate its way through dynamic environments without aids or visual markings on the floor. The robot can also handle challenging floor conditions. Think metal grates or damaged concrete floors.
The robot can carry two totes per trip, with a maximum total weight of 50kg. One of the examples of applications of the Sherpa RollerTop mentioned by Ati Motors is the automated transport of products from one conveyor belt to another. A feature here is that the robot is mobile and can therefore be dynamically routed to the right place. In this way, the Sherpa RollerTop saves space compared to a fixed conveyor belt, among other things.
Users can combine the Sherpa RollerTop with the Ati Fleet Manager. This solution communicates with conveyor belts. It allows Sherpa to control RollerTops to pick up products from the right conveyor belt at the right time, and deliver them to the right location.
Expand operations
US venture capital firm True Ventures, among others, is putting money into Ati Motors. Existing investors Blume Ventures, Exfinity Ventures and MFV Partners are also re-investing in the Indian company.
Ati Motors plans to use the investment to expand its operations in various markets, as well as enter new ones. For instance, the company wants to expand its business in the US, Mexican and Southeast Asian markets. In addition, Ati Motors wants to enter the European and Japanese markets through partnerships. The company's customers include Bosch, TVS, Hyundai and CEAT.
Explore new applications
In addition, the startup wants to explore new applications for its robots. Whereas the AMRs are currently mainly used in manufacturing, the company wants to make the robots suitable for pharmaceutical and chemical companies as well as injection moulding companies.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Photo: THAM YUAN YUAN via Pixabay
