According to the jury, Realtime Robotics has done pioneering work in the optimization of robot work cells by improving performance and shortening cycle times. The 'choreography software' takes over the motion planning of the robots and works at a fast pace. To do this, it evaluates hundreds of thousands of suggested solutions before providing users with optimized robot paths, sequences and tool rotations.

Programming a production cell is traditionally a very time-consuming task for engineers and optimizing workflows is a typical bottleneck. If the robot's tasks change, the planning process has to start from scratch every time. The software from Realtime Robotics is able to optimize the motion sequences of the robots within a very short time. Future versions of the software will also optimize energy consumption and space requirements.

"It is a great honour for us to receive such recognition from the leading organizations in the robotics industry," says Will Floyd-Jones, co-founder of Realtime Robotics.

All finalists are newcomers

For the first time this year, all four finalists are newcomers to the industry. "The finalists are all characterized by a high level of quality and show that the robotics industry has entered a new phase," said Andra Keay, Chair of the IERA Awards and Vice President of the RAS Industrial Activities Board. "For the first time, all finalists are young companies founded within the last ten years. These newcomers have raised more than $500 million in investment and employ more than 1,300 people."

The other three finalists for the IERA Award were:

• Fourier Intelligence from Shanghai, China, with the humanoid robot 'GR-1', which masters human-like control capabilities for movement
• Youibot Robotics from Shenzhen, China, with the mobile manipulator 'OW12' for the automation of semiconductor production
• Neura Robotics from Metzingen, Germany, with the 'Cognitive Robotics' platform.

The award ceremony took place during the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Yokohama, Japan.

The Award

The IERA Award was established in 2005 and is presented annually by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Industrial Activities Board and the International Federation of Robotics. It highlights and honors the achievements of inventors with value-adding ideas and entrepreneurs who turn these ideas into world-class products.