Avular, which emerged from TUe eleven years ago, is active in mobile robotics with platforms for driving and flying robots. The company also partners with leading industrial players to automate or robotize solutions. Recently, Avular was nominated for the Tech Hero Award. “In terms of strategic autonomy and data security, we are very well positioned because we manage the entire IP stack ourselves,” says CEO and co-founder Albert Maas.
What is your USP? What do you add to what already exists?
“Our autonomy algorithms: the way we control robots is unique. Our strength lies in the fact that our technology and design are highly vertically integrated. This is part of our strategy to achieve optimal market adoption. This may be less unique in the world, but it is unique in Europe.”
“We see a huge labour shortage and many possible applications. We have two propositions of our own, a driving platform and a flying platform, which can be used to serve different businesses. We also partner with leading players in their industry to automate or robotize their propositions.”
“Our deep expertise in software systems and autonomy enables us to help parties that are unable to do so themselves. We always choose partners who are leaders in their industry, who have an entry-to-market and who also have the potential volume to break through the market.”
“A good example is Heijmans. We are working with them on an autonomous road roller. They have a large staff shortage and, of course, do not have the expertise [that we have] in robotics. The large OEMs either lack the expertise or are not ready for it. They prefer to exploit their market in the non-robotized landscape first. And we are responding to that firmly, because Heijmans does have the need.”
“At the same time, we have our drone platform and our mobile robot platform. A Swedish company has a good use case for our drone platform. They have AI algorithms for recognizing individual trees in forests. “Is it a pine tree? Is it an ash tree? What does the bark look like? Can we harvest it yet?” We have engineered a drone for this purpose that flies autonomously through the forest. The company can feed the data into its system in real time. In addition to Sweden, these drones operate in Japan, America, and Portugal. This is really scaling up.”
“Physical labour is the largest market in the world after energy and automotive. There is a huge opportunity to apply a great deal of robotization there.”
“Critical infrastructure also benefits greatly from robotics, because people with expertise are simply no longer available, or they no longer want to do the work. But through this generation of people, we can still “capture” their expertise and transfer it to robots, which then collect the data and report whether, for example, a part needs to be replaced or not. For example, we have done a great project with Prorail, where our mobile robots inspect rails, switches, and wagons, among other things.”
What is the biggest challenge you are facing?
“I think the biggest challenge is China and how heavily they are investing in robotics. They have a whole technology roadmap to expand their robotics industry. By 2035, they aim to make this one of their largest markets. Physical labour is the largest market in the world after energy and automotive. There is a huge opportunity to apply a lot of robotization there. It is actually the next step in automation. The Chinese state is investing a lot of money in this because, ultimately, it gives them the greatest competitive advantage.”
“Everyone in the drone world knows DJI. They have a turnover of over eight billion and are leaders in the drone field. This is one of the leading companies that was ahead of the Western world and really captured the market.”
“What you do see is that the Western world, and even Europe, wants more strategic autonomy and less dependence. Data security is certainly crucial in this regard. And in that respect, we are very well positioned because we are one of the few in Europe that manages the entire IP stack itself.”
“Many other robotics companies in Europe are integrators. They often buy parts from third parties, including many Chinese ones. Our strategy from the outset has been to build everything ourselves. Because then you can achieve deep integration, obtain high margins, and beat the rest of the market. DJI does the same. You can see that it’s a really successful model.”
“Of course, this requires a great deal of technical knowledge. Fortunately, we get that from the university and the Brainport region. But you do need to take a much longer run-up and invest a lot more capital to get there.”
What are you proud of?
“I am extremely proud of our team and what we have created. Look, I started my own business because I believe in establishing strong, beautiful brands in Europe. Philips used to be a very strong brand. We have lost this [capability] a little, even though we have in-depth knowledge of product design, technology, and systems thinking. But we are not as good at selling our products as the Americans.”
“I think it’s great to put deep technical knowledge back on a pedestal. The engineer is the star. They have to ensure that our future earning capacity is guaranteed and that we can maintain our values through technological independence. I’m proud that we’re succeeding in this and that we have a great multidisciplinary team that has everything it takes to take on this challenge.”