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In the event section of the 9th Munich Startup Podcast, you will get a review of Bits & Pretzels. We will also introduce you to Pylot, the winning team of the ‘Munich Startup Award' in more detail. And we briefly discuss the Automatica trade fair, which was cancelled for this year, but some Online formats offers.
How robots are changing the world
What are robots? And where do they come from? After answering these questions, we'll talk about numbers (starting at minute 5:20). Currently, there are 113 industrial robots per 100,000 workers worldwide, explains the World Economic ForumGermany leads the way here, with 346 industrial robots per 100,000 employees. Globally, we rank third, trailing only South Korea and Japan.
The most important manufacturers of industrial robots come from Japan and Germany; in addition to Mitsubishi and Kawasaki, Kuka and Dürr are also worth mentioning. Startups are also getting involved here, and quite a few of them are based in Munich. We therefore introduce you to six Munich-based robotics startups, all of which produce cobots. These robots are primarily designed for use in human environments and can assist employees with tasks without endangering them. Another advantage: cobots help people with heavy work. Therefore, they don't take away jobs, but rather complement them.
Success stories of Munich robotics startups
Franka Emika is at the forefront. Founded in 2016, the startup specializes in the development, design, and marketing of sensitive, powerful, and cost-effective industrial robotThe robotic arm called 'Panda' has been sold worldwide since 2017. Starting at minute 11:35, we talk about this success story from Munich.
The second robotics startup, Agile Robots, also presents intelligent robot arms and hands (minute 15:09). Founded in 2018 by Zhaopeng Chen, the startup develops not only hardware but also artificial intelligence (AI)-based software that is compatible with other manufacturers. It is very successful, as the recently published #CoronaUpdate In a video they talked about how they are expanding their team despite the crisis.
In addition to the classic industrial robots from Franka Emika and Agile Robots, which can be used universally – whether in the factory or in the operating room – there are also specialized medical robots. Medineering is successful in this area (minute 19:25). Founded in 2014, the startup builds robotic arms that assist in surgical procedures. In 2019, the Munich-based start-up was acquired by the medtech company Brainlab, also based in Munich.
Robots: Strongly represented in production, medicine and logistics
Another area that can look forward to robot growth from Munich is the construction industry. The Munich-based startup Kewazo has developed a special scaffolding robot. Together with the underlying data platform, the startup, founded in 2016, is making scaffolding construction not only safer, but also significantly more cost-effective and faster (starting at minute 22:02).
Robotise takes a different approach. Also founded in 2016, the startup has developed a service robot, originally for intralogistics in the hospitality and restaurant industries. You can find out what Robotise has done during the coronavirus crisis and its future plans starting at minute 24:18. Magazino also focuses on logistics, but on a large scale. The Munich-based startup has been developing its warehouse and order-picking robots since 2014 and has been very successful (starting at minute 26:27).
A look into the future, and one to Berlin
Finally, we will also look at the future of robotics and provide an outlook on the possible further development of the industry (from minute 30:40).
In our second topic (from minute 32:57) we introduce you to the logistics startup Tradelink in more detail. The Munich-based company has just Seed financing in the millions completed. Therefore, we also talk about one of the investors, namely the seed capital provider Fly Ventures from Berlin.
