A technology that reinvents the way robots pick up objects: “Today this is a problem – he says Lorenzo Agostini, co-founder together with Camilla Conti of Adaptronics the startup that patented it -: there are no effective solutions that can allow versatile gripping situations for robots and automatic machines in all sectors and especially in space there are no standards for taking space debris for services such as maintenance, satellite refueling“.
Lorenzo and Camilla met ten years ago at the University of Waterloo in Canada, where they were both exchange university students from the Polytechnic of Milan. After completing their respective doctoral courses, they decided to join forces in this entrepreneurial adventure. So Lorenzo and Camilla thought of a solution that applies electrostatic forces, a thin film that when electrically activated attaches to objects thanks to electroadhesion, also with sensory capabilities of contact and proximity with objects. Real “fingertips” for robots and machines.
To do this, the two doctoral students turned to Rocco Vertechy, professor at the industrial engineering department of the University of Bologna who, with the business angel Gavino Boringhieri, became co-founder: “Thanks to the relationship with the university where I am now a researcher and the possibility of using the laboratories and working in teams – adds Agostini – we have created the first proofs of concept”. The collaboration between Lorenzo and Rocco was born in 2016 in the field of research, and was then consolidated with Lorenzo’s entry into Rocco’s laboratory as a post-doc in 2020. In 2022 Adapttronics, after winning the Startcup Emilia Romagna and the Pni for the industrial sector, entered the ESA Bic Turin space incubator and closed a round of around 680 thousand euros with the National Aerospace Technology Transfer Center of Cdp Venture Capital Sgr and A11 Venture of Lucca”.
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The image that the founders use to explain to those uninitiated how their invention works takes us back to childhood: “Remember when you rubbed a balloon on your hair and it stuck? The principle is the same“, they say. However, Adaptronics has taken this principle to a whole new level. The thin film electrically activated it becomes a sort of “fingertip” on the robot’s hand. This film allows the robot to adhere to objects securely and precisely, greatly simplifying the process of picking up and moving objects. One of the most amazing aspects of this innovation is its ability to lift considerable weight. With two credit card-like “patches”, the robot can lift up to twenty kilograms. Furthermore, the gripping force can be easily adjusted by increasing the contact surface. This electrostatic approach to object acquisition proves to be highly energy efficient, thus contributing to sustainability.
“The applications of this technology are extremely versatile – adds the founder -. First of all, can revolutionize industrial logistics, making the movement of packages and objects safer and more efficient, without the risk of damage and using much smaller amounts of energy than today. Furthermore, it could be used for last mile deliveries, perhaps via drones, further improving the efficiency of delivery operations. As Spin-in technology, however, we are looking at space because it is a rapidly growing area”. The funds raised in the new round will be used to strengthen research and development activities, insert new technical resources, demonstrate the technology in the industrial sector but above all to proceed towards a validation campaign in space orbit. These are the foundations for the commercialization of an enabling technology that will revolutionize industrial automation and allow the development of markets fundamental to the space economy, such as in-orbit satellite services, the recycling and manufacturing directly in orbit, and the capture of space debris.
“Emilia Romagna and Bologna are fertile ground for us, on the one hand for the enormous number of high-level researchers and on the other for the large industrial presence which allows us to activate partnerships and propose the Adapttronics solution – concludes the founder -. Today we want to validate space technology and by 2025 we want to raise a capital increase to scale it. To date, in just over two years, seven people are already working at Adaptrons, but we are looking to hire four more.”
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