Munich Startup: What does Roboverse Reply do? What problem do you solve?
Roboverse Reply: Our goal is to help companies increase their operational efficiency and develop innovative business models by integrating mobile robotics into their processes. With a broad range of solutions based on AI capabilities, fleet management and digital twins, as well as strategic partnerships with leading technology companies such as Boston Dynamics, Roboverse Reply has the technological expertise and industry knowledge to guide companies on their path to the future.
By deploying mobile robots, we help companies tackle a variety of challenges, such as skills shortages by taking over monotonous tasks, dirty work and hazardous activities (dull, dangerous, dirty). By introducing and automating work orders, we reduce backlogs in facilities and their downtime. With our solutions, we are able to detect defective pumps, motors or bearings early and identify various leaks in an automated manner.
The collected data is processed and analyzed by AI. In the event of an anomaly, a notification is sent via dashboards, teams or email, so the employee is kept in the loop and can respond to problems in time.
Munich Startup: But that already exists!
Roboverse Reply: Although some of the technologies and solutions that Roboverse Reply offers already exist, their integration and adaptation to specific operational requirements is a complex task. As a customer-oriented systems integrator, we offer tailored, efficient solutions, setting us apart from competitors who often rely on pre-built solutions. For example, our telemanipulation solution for mobile robots ensures complete control of robot fleets via a user-friendly web interface and VR glasses from anywhere in the world. With this feature, companies can perform routine inspections remotely as well as interact with and manipulate their environment.
“Autonomous robotics is a complex future topic”
The Roboverse Reply team, with its experience, works in close dialogue with customers on site and finds an individual solution through consultation. Autonomous robotics is a complex future topic whose introduction in companies already creates added value today, but must be approached strategically and carefully. We support our customers throughout their robotics journey, from developing a company-wide robotics strategy through implementing prototypes to rolling out these systems – based on our accelerators and whitebox software. This makes us unique in Europe.
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Roboverse Reply: Our founding story begins with our admission as an early adopter to Boston Dynamics’ partner program in 2019. At that time, we already had some expertise in the field of robotics with a focus on data and AI. After the first tests and evaluation of use cases, we were able to start with proofs of concept (PoCs), help shape the market with our developments and grew together.
Roboverse Reply works closely with Boston Dynamics
Within the team, we recognized the enormous potential in combining our know-how with Boston Dynamics’ technology. When the opportunity arose, we decided in 2021 to found Roboverse Reply as an independent company. Today, Roboverse Reply has grown and so has our reach, as we have now entered into a variety of partnerships to be able to offer solutions with multiple robots.
In the same year, we proved our capabilities at the AIRA Challenge (Advanced Industrial Robotic Applications): we mastered the tasks, impressed the jury and won the challenge. This year, we were able to defend our title at the AIRA Challenge. Additionally, we were awarded the Best Performance Award in the Recon Challenge at ELROB 2024 (European Land-Robot Trial). This demonstrated that we are not only able to advise our customers strategically, but also serve as one of the best possible partners in implementation. A great confirmation that we are proud of.
With our headquarters in Munich and a strong network of robotics experts, we are positioned to help shape the future of robotics and automation. Our founding story is characterized by commitment, collaboration and a belief in the transformative power of robotics technology for a wide range of applications.
Introducing mobile robots to industries where they are not yet widespread
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Roboverse Reply: One of our biggest challenges has been introducing our mobile robots to industries where this technology was not yet widely adopted, particularly among large, established companies in traditional industries. Although we were aware that our product could be very interesting to these companies, the lack of familiarity with mobile robots did present a hurdle.
A practical example: Some companies buy mobile robots, use them for social media posts, yet create no added value with them because pilot projects were underestimated in resource requirements or complexity, since IT security, data protection and the works council also want to have a say in these matters. Without added value from their use but with high resource consumption, the robots left a poor internal impression, so these projects were not pursued further. It is a task to identify these customers and help them give robotics another chance, focus on the right use cases and achieve a quick return on investment (ROI).
Our goal is to find and deliver the best projects for our customers’ relevant use cases. For this, we need current, practice-oriented knowledge and therefore work internally with cutting-edge robots and sensors. For example, we are currently evaluating a humanoid robot in our test facility and assessing possible areas of application. There are many mobile robots, but we need to know actual market readiness, understand what regulatory requirements they meet, what typical requirements from large corporations can be fulfilled with them and also test availability so we can consider these robots for real-world applications at our customers.
Steady growth of Roboverse Reply
We have been able to overcome some of these challenges with the support of the Reply network and the industry. The resources and expertise available to us allow us to advance project development and marketing while overcoming industry concerns and reservations.
Munich Startup: How is business going?
Roboverse Reply: Since our start in January 2022 with a team of five colleagues, we have undergone considerable development and grown to over 25 people. Part of the team works in the field of spatial computing, including extended reality (XR), simulation and visualization of digital twins based on Nvidia Omniverse. The other part focuses on mobile robotics, for example with Spot from Boston Dynamics. Our close collaboration with this manufacturer has made us Boston Dynamics’ preferred integration partner in Europe. This reflects our commitment, customer satisfaction and success in the industry.
We have established ourselves in important industrial sectors such as chemicals, energy, logistics, public safety and infrastructure, and offer customized solutions for complex requirements. A particularly exciting milestone was our digital twin projects based on Nvidia Omniverse. Through high-quality simulation in a realistic environment, mobile robots and sensors can be validated faster and more easily and thus introduced into operation.
Munich is “very dynamic and conducive to technology-oriented companies”
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Roboverse Reply: We have experienced Munich as a startup location to be very dynamic and conducive to technology-oriented companies. The region and its environment host a multitude of technology companies that have enabled us to constantly form new partnerships and expand our network. This close networking at the location allows us to exchange with leading minds in the industry and benefit from a diverse pool of knowledge. Moreover, Munich offers excellent infrastructure for idea exchange at the highest level. We want to further expand our network both in industry and in research and development in Munich and together build a cluster of thought leaders and companies that have the courage to lead the market in this field.
Munich Startup: Outsource or do it yourself?
Roboverse Reply: We have decided to offer our customers end-to-end solutions. Since we install much as “white box” in our customers’ infrastructure, this requires a high degree of transparency, robustness, reliability and quality. Furthermore, some of our customers operate critical infrastructure that requires security clearance of project staff. Therefore, development is carried out internally and not outsourced. We focus on integrating robots and sensors into a user-friendly overall solution and not developing isolated systems.
With our platform for robotics and sensing, we are able to solve both universal problems and respond specifically to individual requirements. For example, we have ourselves developed a VR telemanipulation solution for mobile robots that contains 3D models of our customers’ facilities and at the same time is linked to internal systems to give the employee a complete overview of the facility or create service tickets for tradespeople directly from VR. To protect our customers’ data as best as possible here, we avoid outsourcing and the associated risks.
