Sep 8, 2023

Olis Robotics – a remote monitoring, control, and error recovery technology specialist for industrial robots – recently announced that it has raised $4.1 million funding in a round led by PSL Ventures. And additional investors include Tectonic Ventures, Ubiquity Ventures, and several prominent strategic angel investors, including robotics pioneer Daniel Theobald, the President and co-founder of MassRobotics and Founder and Chairman of Vecna Robotics. In enabling remote monitoring, control, and troubleshooting industrial robots, Olis Robotics’ Olis Connect system significantly improves Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), effectively addressing costly robot downtime. Olis Connect is controlled directly within in a web browser and delivered on an edge-hosted PC that can be quickly connected to both brand new and legacy industrial robot arms and robotic cells. And the system works across robot brands, with Olis Robotics currently providing full support for robots from Universal Robots and FANUC, addressing approximately 20% of the operational stock of more than 3.5 million industrial robots deployed worldwide. With the new funding round, Olis is adding support for additional robot brands representing more than half of all industrial robots. The funding will also help expand partnerships with robot system integrators in North America and develop new software products. Once Olis’ plug & play device is installed and secure remote access has been configured, users are able to monitor and manage their automation remotely from anywhere via any browser-capable device. And if a problem occurs with the robot, Olis Connect sends out an alert via a secure connection to the user’s device all without connecting to the cloud – a key consideration given the threats surrounding today’s industrial cybersecurity landscape. Users are able to then use the system to remotely perform error recovery actions such as releasing its grip on a part or moving the robot from its error position. Olis Connect provides users with a unique remote error correction functionality, which means that they are able to get robots back up and running remotely, reducing downtime from hours to mere minutes. And three cameras provide low latency monitoring of the entire cell, enabling 24/7 measurement of Key Performance Indicators such as OEE and instant, on demand video replay to forensically diagnose the root cause of any error. Utilizing the Olis Robotics team’s expertise in industrial robot safety, Olis Connect is designed to provide remote access without violating the robot’s existing safety permissions and restrictions. And this means that velocity, acceleration, and joint limit settings on the robot are always obeyed when remote controlling the arm. KEY QUOTES: “In the midst of a global manufacturing labor crisis, companies are adopting automation in record breaking numbers, resulting in calls from both manufacturers and integrators for robust, safe, and secure remote monitoring, diagnostics, and control solutions. Olis Robotics’ unique remote robot control technology answers that call; it can easily be deployed on both brand new and legacy automation, which means a dynamic and exciting market opportunity for investors.” — T.A. McCann, partner at PSL Ventures, who joins Olis Robotics’ Board of Directors “Robot downtime can cost a large plant over $1 million per hour. When every minute counts, you need to leverage remote tools to react as quickly as possible no matter where you are. Our technology is ingeniously simple to use and intensely practical in terms of its impact.” — Fredrik Ryden, CEO of Olis Robotics “Being able to remotely operate industrial robots is a game changer for us and the industry as a whole. We have deployed thousands of robots in the past two decades as a company. Given the current labor challenges, we expect a majority of those to be retrofitted with Olis technology within the next couple of years.” — Brad Sparkman, President and CEO of Innovative Finishing Solutions (IFS), an Olis Robotics Partner and leading integrator of FANUC paint robots for the automotive industry “What really excites me about what Olis brings to the market is the ability to unlock company resources through remote robot access in real time, ultimately providing better support for customers and their robotic applications.” — Silas Robertson, SVP of Sales and Marketing at Applied Automation and an Olis Robotics Partner “In addition to the market need and opportunity, we love backing technical founders with a clear starting point and a big vision. Fredrik is one of those kinds of founders.” — T.A. McCann, partner at PSL Ventures Trending on Pulse 2.0