The world is no longer understood without robots. They are used for endless activities, but they still have a long way to go. Advancing on this path is the Barcelona startup Keybotic. “We came from making humanoid robots (with a human form) and we did not understand why they were not introduced in the industry, until we discovered that the explanation lay in the need to direct them. In other words, they were not autonomous”, points out Irene Gómez, co-founder of this start-up company together with Hilario Tomé.
Determined to give robots autonomy so that they can replace people in certain risky jobs, Gómez and Tomé applied for the most important robotics prize in the world, the Darpa Robotic Challenge, organized by the American government agency Darpa (Agency of Defense Advanced Research Projects), and they won! The prize received was 710,000 euros.
The proposal of this pair of entrepreneurs is an autonomous robot in the shape of a dog that is capable of inspecting and detecting incidents in industrial environments in sectors such as chemicals, security or mining. “We avoid putting a person at risk,” says Gómez. Currently, Keybotic is in negotiations to carry out proofs of concept in companies such as BASF, Bombers de Barcelona, Carburos Metálicos (Air Products) and the Sant Cugat City Council, among others. Entrepreneurs have opted to rent the robots instead of selling them due to their high cost.
With a team of seven people, Keybotic has involved an initial investment of one million euros (including prize money).
