From Revolute Robotics 26/07/23
With the ever-changing technology of robotics and their impact on the future, one thing is for certain – robots are here to stay.
With this in mind, Arizona-based Revolute Robotics is introducing a new type of robot that can not only fly through the air, but drive and roll on the ground, allowing it to access areas and perform dangerous tasks that no other robot can.
Looking like it escaped from an episode of The Jetsons, the technology is essentially a drone mounted inside a spherical exoskeleton with a special mechanism that allows the drone to roll on the ground when flying isn’t needed.
According to CEO Collin Taylor, this allows the robot to drive for five times longer than it can fly because it isn’t expending energy to fight gravity, and if it needs to get around an obstacle or travel somewhere quickly, it switches back to flying.
This makes it the ideal candidate for navigating confined spaces and complex environments as it can operate longer than a drone and can outmaneuver a rover.
The concept was inspired by Co-Founder Sahand Sabet’s internships at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he worked on hybrid aerial/terrestrial robots, which led him to dedicate his PhD dissertation to studying different types of robots that could both drive and fly.
After several years of research, Sabet connected with Taylor, who had spent seven years prior working in the commercial drone industry, and the pair decided to found Revolute Robotics in 2021.
Today, two years and over two dozen prototypes later, Revolute Robotics has succeeded in creating a robot that partners the aerial mobility of drones with the durability and long operating time of rovers.
They call their prototype the Hybrid Mobility Robot (HMR).
According to Taylor, this prototype has attracted interest from hundreds of companies interested in utilizing these robots for inspecting dangerous confined spaces, 3-D mapping construction sites and underground mines, automating routine security patrols and helping to protect our military soldiers in battle.
“We plan to offer this breakthrough in robotics technology to all of these industries, but we’re most excited about performing inspections in confined spaces,” said Taylor.
“Those inspections are costly, time consuming and extremely dangerous. We believe our HMR can do the job in less time and at a fraction of the cost, all while reducing or eliminating human risk in dangerous situations,” he said.
The company is currently alpha-testing HMR with several local drone service companies to hone the system for widespread use.
The company recently launched its first-ever equity crowdfunding campaign on the Kevin O’Leary-backed StartEngine platform, allowing virtually anyone in the world to invest in the future of the robotics industry for as little as $100.
For more information on how to follow and support the campaign, visit startengine.com/revoluterobotics.
More info
https://www.revoluterobotics.com/
