German Bionic has secured US$20m (£15m) in series A financing to enable further development of its exoskeleton technology and cloud robotics platform.
According to the company, Cray X is the world’s first connected exoskeleton for smart factories, designed to boost worker productivity as well as health and safety.
The self-learning power suit reinforces lifting movements, preventing improper exertion and excessive strain, thereby reducing the risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders in the lower back.
Furthermore, Cray X is designed to reduce risk of accidents whilst increasing worker efficiency.
Armin Schmidt, CEO of German Bionic, said: “With our groundbreaking robotic technology that combines human work with the industrial Internet of Things, we literally strengthen the shop floor workers’ backs in an immediate and sustainable way.
“Measurable data underscores that this ultimately increases productivity and the efficiency of the work done. The market for smart human-machine systems is huge and we are now perfectly positioned to take a major share and substantially improve numerous working lives.”
The funding will also help advance German Bionic’s IO cloud robotics platform, which delivers real-time data to provide the basis for machine learning and derives KPIs for the users. It also enables remote maintenance and over-the-air software updates.
The latest investment round was led by Samsung Catalyst Fund and MIG AG with participation from Storm Ventures, Benhamou Global Ventures and IT Farm.
Michael Motschmann, managing partner with MIG AG, said: “Previously, efficiency gains and health promotion in manual labour were often at odds with one another. German Bionic managed to not only break through this paradigm, but also to make manual labour a part of the digital transformation and elegantly integrate it into the smart factory.”
