OnRobot Opens First R&D Office in U.S.

The collaborative robot (cobot) market is now the fastest growing segment of industrial automation, expected to jump ten-fold to 34 percent of all industrial robot sales by 2025 according to the International Federation of Robotics. Cobots do not need to be bolted down in safety cages and can work safely alongside humans on ever-changing tasks. With the U.S. facing record low unemployment rates, shops are now turning to cobots to help them automate tedious, repetitive tasks that they can no longer staff.

OnRobot A/S (Odense, Denmark) plays a pivotal role in this growth by providing end-of-arm-tooling for cobots, such as grippers, tool changers and force/torque sensors. They have now opened their first location specifically dedicated to research and development in the United States. Based in Culver City (Los Angeles, CA), the new office area boasts 6,000 sq ft for engineers, researchers and local staff to work and develop new products. Last year marked the company’s first foray into the LA area when they acquired Perception Robotics, brought Gecko Gripper technology into their product offerings, then developed it for commercial launch. The tactile Gecko Gripper uses millions of micro-scaled fibrillar stalks that adhere to a surface the same way that lizards climb. Originally created to help NASA salvage and repair satellites, the gripper’s unique ability to pick up porous and delicate objects has already gained significant traction with industrial automation users.

With limited square footage in the original Perception Robotics space, there wasn’t enough room to focus on two important tasks: production and assembly, and continuing R&D efforts to spawn new ideas for future product development. “As we continue our aggressive expansion throughout North America, moving to this larger location in Culver City offers multiple benefits,” said Enrico Krog Iversen, the chief executive officer of OnRobot. “It has space for our current staff of 17, with plenty of room for the research team to use multiple types of collaborative robot arms in our quest to develop new tools for these. It’s also directly across the street from a multi-million dollar entertainment industry hub that is currently being built, called Ivy Station. The new building will be home to HBO, Apple, and Amazon, bringing Culver City a more qualified pool of candidates for us to choose from when we look at increasing our staff next year. We’re excited to be here and are looking forward to all the great things we’re going to accomplish in this region.”

This new location is conveniently located for staff and visitors trying to reach the office in the notorious LA traffic. It is located next to the Culver City light rail stop, tucked between Santa Monica and downtown Los Angeles near the 405 and 10 freeway intersection, close to the LAX airport.

www.onrobot.com