Bristol-based Perceptual Robotics has secured £1.6m in its latest funding round, which will assist the firm develop unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), advanced robotics and machine learning tools for fully autonomous inspections of wind turbines.
This latest investment was led by TSP Ventures, an early-stage Venture Capital Fund supporting businesses focusing on climate and environmental technologies. The round is joined by Humble Holdings, an impact investments firm, existing investors Metavallon VC and other strategic angel investors.
Chris Smith, CEO at TSP Ventures, said: “Perceptual Robotics’ mission to reduce costs and improve efficiencies in the wind turbine inspection market, is helping the whole of the wind industry become more efficient and cost effective.
“At TSP, we love enabling technologies that can help accelerate the transition to renewable energy and a cleaner future for our planet. We look forward to supporting the team as they scale operations internationally.”
As previously reported by Robotics & Innovation, Perceptual Robotics is working with the University of Bristol on a 12-month research project to trial the use of UAVs to detect offshore wind turbine blade defects.
Kostas Karachalios, CEO of Perceptual Robotics, added: “This new funding will allow us to increase headcount, continue to mature our groundbreaking technology and drive the scale of our sales and marketing activities on the back of our recent successful programmes with clients across Europe.
“We are growing our team with system engineers and sales engineers and are looking for exceptional people to join us in Athens and Bristol.
“We are in a good position to provide excellent services to our clients and new automations for the wind and other industries. The future is both bright and exciting.”
