Industry:
Robotics, Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Logistics, Healthcare, Education, Entertainment
Project Year:
2020
Use cases:
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Automated waste segregation
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Optimised waste collection routing
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Increased bin capacity.
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Data collection on waste generation patterns
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Improved public spaces
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Traditional bipedal robots often struggle with balance and stability, particularly in fast-paced environments.
Maintaining balance and the ability to move freely require complex control systems, powerful actuators, and sophisticated algorithms. These factors contribute to high production costs, limiting their widespread adoption across various industries. Furthermore, the need for constant innovation to keep pace with rapid advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence leads to short product lifecycles and increased development costs.
Introducing the tiny giant robot (TGR) and its CMG stabilisation
The Tiny Giant Robot (TGR) is a low-cost, gyroscopically stabilised bipedal robot developed by researchers at the University of Queensland. The TGR is a proof-of-concept that is simpler, more robust, and less expensive than traditional bipedal robots. It has the potential to be used in a variety of applications, including surveillance, firefighting, hospitality and research.
Technology Overview
The TGR addresses the core challenge of bipedal balance through the innovative application of a Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG). CMGs are used in various applications, including spacecraft and aircraft, to control their orientation. Therefore, the CMG provides dynamic stabilisation, enabling the robot to maintain balance and recover from disturbances more effectively than traditional methods. Key features include:
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CMG-based stabilisation: The CMG provides rapid and precise adjustments to the robot's centre of gravity, enabling dynamic balance and recovery, which is the key innovation of the TGR.
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Cost-effectiveness: The CMG-based approach simplifies the control system and reduces the need for expensive sensors and actuators, resulting in a significantly lower price point (approximately $5,000 per unit).
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Agility and mobility: The CMG allows the TGR to traverse rugged terrains, climb stairs, and maintain balance effectively, offering greater mobility than other bipedal robots.
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Compact and lightweight design: The TGR's lightweight design (1.3 kg) complements the CMG's functionality, allowing quick and efficient movements.
Validating market interest and refining the commercialisation strategy
The growing demand for agile and cost-effective robots in industries like logistics, healthcare, and entertainment, combined with the limitations of existing bipedal robots regarding balance and stability, creates a significant market opportunity for TGR's CMG technology. This opportunity was further explored through targeted research and outreach.
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Bipedal robot market: The bipedal robot market is a niche within the robotics industry, with applications in logistics, healthcare, hospitality, and other sectors.
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Market drivers: Key market drivers include increasing automation, labour shortages, and the need for robots that can operate in human environments.
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Main competitors: SoftBank Robotics (Pepper), Boston Dynamics (Atlas), and Agility Robotics (Digit) are key competitors in the bipedal robot market.
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SWOT analysis: The SWOT analysis highlights TGR's strengths (innovation, cost-effectiveness), weaknesses (limited battery life, range), opportunities (growing market, licensing potential), and threats (competition, technological advancements).
Customer discovery and validation process
The team used the lean startup methodology to hypothesise and validate the problem, market need and the viability of the commercialisation strategy. They started by validating the hypotheses by conducting secondary research.
Hypothesis 1: A startup approach for TGR commercialisation is high-risk and resource-intensive.
Supporting evidence:
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Significant upfront capital is required for R&D, manufacturing scaling, marketing, and distribution.
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Building a complete team with expertise in robotics, engineering, business development, sales, and marketing is challenging and costly.
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The bipedal robotics market is still developing, creating uncertainty in demand and market size.
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Competition from established robotics companies with greater resources and market presence poses a significant threat.
Result: The evidence strongly supports that the startup approach presents substantial financial and operational risks, making it less favourable for the TGR at this stage.
Hypothesis 2: Crowdfunding is insufficient for large-scale commercialisation.
Supporting evidence:
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Crowdfunding campaigns typically raise limited capital, which is insufficient for the complex manufacturing and distribution of a robotic product like TGR.
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The target market for TGR is more likely to be businesses and institutions rather than individual consumers, limiting the effectiveness of a consumer-focused crowd-funding campaign.
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Crowdfunding can dilute equity or require fulfilling specific promises to backers, potentially limiting future strategic flexibility.
Result: Crowdfunding may be a helpful tool for initial validation or smaller projects related to TGR, but it's inadequate for full-scale commercialisation.
Hypothesis 3: A joint venture offers a moderate risk and potential reward but presents complexities in partnership management.
Supporting evidence:
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A joint venture allows for shared resources, expertise, and market access, reducing the financial burden on the University of Queensland.
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Finding a suitable partner with aligned goals, compatible organisational culture, and complementary resources is crucial and potentially challenging.
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Negotiating terms, managing the partnership, and resolving potential conflicts can be complex and time-consuming.
Result: The evidence partially supports the hypothesis. A joint venture is a more viable option than a startup or crowdfunding. However, the complexities of partnership management and the need to find a suitable partner make it a less optimal strategy.
Hypothesis 4: Licensing the TGR technology to an established robotics company is the most effective commercialisation strategy, maximising market penetration and minimising risk for the University of Queensland.
Supporting evidence:
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Licensing transfers the financial burden and operational risks of manufacturing, marketing, and distribution to the licensee.
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The licensee's existing market access, distribution channels, and manufacturing capabilities enable faster and broader market penetration.
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Licensing allows the University of Queensland to focus on further research and development while generating revenue through licensing fees and royalties.
Result: Licensing offers the best balance of risk mitigation, market reach, and continued research potential.
After choosing licensing and joint ventures as the potential commercialisation strategies, the team conducted the validation process in two distinct phases:
Phase 1: Joint venture with academics
The initial strategy focused on collaborating with other universities and research institutions working on similar robotics projects. The team reached out to several researchers in the field, but unfortunately, these initial outreach efforts did not yield any substantial responses or partnerships. This led the team to re-evaluate their commercialisation strategy.
Phase 2: Licensing the TGR to robotic and automotive firms
Based on the lack of traction within academia, the team shifted its focus to an open innovation model, targeting established robotics and automotive firms. This involved exploring potential partnerships and licensing opportunities with companies actively seeking innovative robotics technologies. This approach proved much more fruitful.
Engagement with potential licensees revealed strong interest from Hanson Robotics (an established robotics firm known for its social robots) and expressed interest from automotive giants like Honda, Toyota, and Samsung, actively investing in robotics and autonomous systems. These companies recognised the potential of the TGR's CMG technology to enhance the mobility and stability of their robotic platforms. However, they also indicated that the technology was still perceived as being at a relatively early stage of development, requiring further refinement to reach a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 8 or higher.
Financial outlook and revenue projections
Top-down approach: The global market for humanoid robots is estimated at $10 million. Targeting companies that produce bipedal robots for specific sectors could result in a potential market share of $3 million.
Bottom-up approach: Using Softbank's Nao robot as a model, licensing the TGR technology could generate significant royalty fees, potentially reaching $0.8 million in the fifth year.
Key findings and future outlook
The recommended commercialisation pathway is to license the CMG technology to established companies, particularly those who have expressed interest. Hanson Robotics remains a promising licensee, given its focus on human-like robots and its existing market presence. Automotive companies like Honda, Toyota, and Samsung represent valuable long-term licensing opportunities.
A key aspect of the commercialisation strategy involves further developing the TGR technology to reach TRL 8 and addressing potential licensees' concerns. This involves rigorous testing, refining the CMG control algorithms, and demonstrating the technology's reliability and performance in real-world scenarios. Applying for funding programs like Toyota AI Ventures's smart cities program can provide additional resources for TRL advancement and facilitate collaboration with potential partners.