Touchlab Raises Investment To Give Robots A Human Touch
by Startacus Admin
Edinburgh-based startup Touchlab secures investment to support further development and commercialization of its innovative skin suits for robots.
UK startup Touchlab, a deep tech venture in EIT Digital's Innovation Factory roster, has raised £3.5m (€4.36m) in a funding round led by Octopus Ventures. Touchlab is successfully pursuing an ambitious goal to give robots a human touch. While robots excel against humans in many ways, some tasks are difficult for them to replicate - grasping objects, for instance. In areas of tactile sensing and dexterity, robots have been inferior because they cannot detect tactile information and sometimes use too much force to achieve delicate tasks.
As we've previously highlighted, Touchlab is solving this by developing a low-profile tactile sensing skin, which is wrapped around robots as "electronic-skin".
EIT Digital's UK and Ireland director, Morgan Gillis commented: "Touchlab has outstanding technology with potential for far reaching economic and societal impact. We are delighted to support them in this stage of intense commercialization alongside Octopus Ventures, a leading European VC firm, which shares our focus on deep tech".
Touchlab's e-skin is thinner than human skin, can be easily applied to existing robots and is able to withstand extreme environments such as acid, and high and low temperatures. When used in conjunction with tele-operated avatars, the technology also enables humans to operate remotely in hazardous settings such as nuclear plants or hospitals treating highly infectious diseases.
Zaki Hussein, CEO of Touchlab added: "I greatly look forward to working with EIT Digital to commercialize our tactile avatar telerobot in hospitals across Europe. We aim to break the chain of hospital acquired infections (HAIs) without hindering the human interaction between clinicians and patients - a problem to which there is no existing solution. This will significantly reduce complications due to deadly pathogens, from COVID to MRSA."
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Innovate UK KTN’s Sustainable Impact Investment Programme chooses 13 sustainable UK startups striving to change the world
.jpg)
Etihad Airways partners with Aerospace Xelerated and Tawazun Economic Council to seek applications from innovative startups that are working in the digital services and solutions area.
.jpg)
New cross-border collaboration project featuring interactive portal and series of networking events to be delivered by TechIreland and Startacus, with support from InterTradeIreland’s Synergy initiative.
In London later this week and interested in learning how AI can help startups scale? Book your ticket now for this free event from Women in AI featuring a panel of industry experts discussing just that.
The latest Funding Review from TechIreland reveals that Irish Startups raised €746M in the first-half 2022 but early-stage rounds have dropped to a five-year low.
London-based SaaS startup Evorra has created a data marketplace enabling brands and agencies to build and scale their marketing audiences.
Artist John Kerr set to exhibit a series of personal paintings at The Spot, the urban-art focused gallery in Derry as part of Culture Night 2022.
The lowdown on customer behaviour analysis - what it's all about, the kinds of things that can have an impact on it and how to get it right.
.png)
The innovative businesses participating in this year’s AI Accelerator, delivered by The University of Edinburgh’s Innovation Hub for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, the Bayes Centre are revealed.
Edinburgh-based startup SmpliCare innovating how we care and age by exploring the use of AI-driven wearables to predict the risk of falls and other age-related health issues
Published on: 25th April 2022
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- Innovate UK KTN launches its 2022 sustainable impact accelerator programme 28th Sep 2022 Innovate UK KTN’s Sustainable Impact Investment Programme chooses 13 sustainable UK startups striving to change the world
- Etihad Airways Joins Aerospace Xelerated as a Partner for its Fourth Cohort 27th Sep 2022 Etihad Airways partners with Aerospace Xelerated and Tawazun Economic Council to seek applications from innovative startups that are working in the digital services and solutions area.
- TechIreland & Startacus promote cross-border business collaboration with InterTradeIreland support 26th Sep 2022 New cross-border collaboration project featuring interactive portal and series of networking events to be delivered by TechIreland and Startacus, with support from InterTradeIreland’s Synergy initiative.
- TechIreland publish their mid-year report on Irish startup and tech funding. 22nd Sep 2022 The latest Funding Review from TechIreland reveals that Irish Startups raised €746M in the first-half 2022 but early-stage rounds have dropped to a five-year low.
