Eva has been in development for over two years and has been through over 18 versions, rigorous lifetime testing and it is now undergoing final testing. The first customers for these trials include a multinational automotive supplier, a leading producer of laboratory instruments and a British components manufacturer.

Suryansh Chandra, co-founder of Automata said: “Current industrial robots are designed for heavy industry tasks that require extreme power and precision. But people don’t work like that, and 90% of automatable tasks in manufacturing such as machine tending are still done by people on a daily basis.

“We designed Eva to make automation simple, quick and affordable, so people can leave the menial work to Eva and focus on more intelligent tasks.” Eva is Automata’s first step in achieving the mission of bringing the next revolution in manufacturing by making robotic automation affordable and simple.

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The company is calling it Robotics-As-A-Service (RAAS), which practically moves robotics from CapEx to an OpEx for its customers. The robot and the service are sure to raise the eyebrows of manufacturers who are looking to expand or re-shore their operations as costs of manufacturing in the Far East rise.

Automata Technologies co-founder Mostafa El-Sayed says: “This is truly a game-changer for both robotics and the small manufacturer. Eva is a high quality, high spec robot that doesn’t require a technical expert to programme it and doesn’t cost the earth. Best of all, it will help growing businesses save money in the long run.”

Eva boasts plug-and-play automation that the company says is dramatically simpler than existing industrial offerings and a fraction of the cost. Fellow founder Suryansh Chandra says: “Current industrial robots are designed for heavy industry tasks that require extreme power and precision. But people don’t work like that, and 93% of automatable tasks in manufacturing such as machine tending are still done by people on a daily basis. We designed Eva to make automation simple, quick and affordable, so people can leave the menial work to Eva and focus on more intelligent tasks.”

Eva is made of high-strength plastic, making it lightweight and inexpensive to manufacture compared to existing robots. Eva can be programmed by physically moving it through a task, which it can learn and re-run instantly without needing a computer or sophisticated programming.

Automata has already built a series of plug-and-play attachments for Eva such as grippers, mounts and machine specific handles. The company expects the number of available attachments to grow as Eva gets deployed across a range of use-cases. The company has already engaged with third party developers to develop attachments and software apps for specialised use-cases, akin to apps on smart-phones.

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Weighing less than 2.5kg, Eva is incredibly light, making the Automata Technologies robot easy to deploy. Automata Technologies has designed Eva as a benchtop robot, with precision down to a single millimetre, and operation through a full 360°. For ease of use, the Automata Technologies robot uses a 12V power supply and connects over USB or wireless, being ready to go the moment it’s plugged in.

Programming of the robot is accomplished by Choreograph, with Automata Technologies says is so simple you won’t even need a computer. Being app based, the software will be available regardless of what platform you’re on, and Automata Technologies has designed it to just work out of the box. Further, Automata Technologies says you can just move Eva through a task, and the robot learns – no skills required.

The Choreograph software is still under development, but Automata Technologies has designed it as a lightweight, cross-platform, standalone application for Windows, iOS and Android. There are also plugins for Rhino, Maya and Processing, while Automata Technologies says C++, .NET and Open APIs can provide further extensions.

Automata Technologies was founded in January 2015 by Mostafa ElSayed and Suryansh Chandra who, having worked at the intersection of design, technology and digital manufacturing for over seven years and understand the challenges and opportunities this space presents.

The founders of Automata Technologies say the goal is to democratise robotics for both SME and consumer markets by providing affordable and easy to use robotics and software. “We believe robotic automation can bring a huge amount of creativity in addition to enhancing productivity to small businesses and individual users. Over the coming years, these will change the way we live and work.

“But first, these robots need to become a whole lot easier to use, safer to work beside, and substantially more affordable. Eva is our first product in our commitment to meet those goals, by being a low-cost, easy to use and lightweight robotic arm. We like to think of Eva as an assistant that can give you a helping hand in a variety of uses whether you’re a business, hobbyist, or an educator.”

Automata Technologies says the target price for the Eva robot is $2500 to $3500. Visit the Automata Technologies website for more information.

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