Funds earmarked for productization and market introduction
DALLAS, TX – July 09, 2018 – Motus Labs LLC, a manufacturer of robot joint actuator and drives for the Service and Industrial robot markets, has successfully closed a self-funded seed round of $1.5 million. The new capital, funded by the Motus Labs leadership team, advisors and board members will be used to productize the innovative new drive architecture, that uses mating blocks or surfaces instead of traditional gear teeth. The disruptive design was conceptualized and developed over a 5-year period and patented by CTO/Founder, Carlos Hoefken, veteran automation, and robotics engineer.
“It has been over 50 years since the gear drive market has seen game-changing technology,” said Joe Pollard, president and chief executive officer at Motus Labs. “We believe this innovative new architecture can revolutionize the Service/Cobot and Industrial Robot markets.”
The Motus M-DRIVE is designed to achieve superior performance metrics and reduce costs by utilizing a unique architecture that eliminates the use of expensive materials and manufacturing processes. The combined benefits of reduced weight, high performance, and lower cost, dramatically reduce the ROI of robots, providing the ability to open new applications.
“The actuator drive that Motus Labs has designed is revolutionary in its ability to greatly reduce the cost and complexity of the control system or correction circuity used to compensate for positional inaccuracies,” said Dr. Spong, professor of systems engineering and electrical and computer engineering at the University of Texas at Dallas. “In an optimal environment, you want the motor to do the work and achieve high-performance metrics without corrective actions, reducing robotic cost and complexities.”
The funding secured by the Motus Labs leadership team, co-founders and advisors include:
- President & CEO, Joe Pollard
- Executive Chairman, Jim Fontaine
- CTO/Founder, Carlos Hoefken
- Technical Advisor, Dr. Mark Spong
- Technical Advisor, Dr. Jeffrey Smith
- Board Member, Richard Holoman
- VP, Business Development, Greg Zancewicz
- VP, Manufacturing, David West
- European Representative, Barry Koch