News Releases

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Invests in Realtime Robotics, Inc.Will use startup's innovative technologies to improve performance and safety in industrial robot systems promptly

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 3281

TOKYO, May 8, 2019 - Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that it has taken an equity stake in Realtime Robotics, Inc. a U.S. technology startup that develops and commercializes motion-planning*¹ technologies. Funding by Mitsubishi Electric is expected to accelerate the development of industrial robot systems offering enhanced safety and performance.

*1Motion planning is the process of calculating and determining the optimized path that a robot should take to reach a goal without colliding with any obstacle. Realtime Robotics' motion path planning solution performs the necessary calculations in real time.

Going forward, Mitsubishi Electric expects to launch new industrial robot systems that integrate Realtime Robotics' motion-planning technologies by 2020. At the same time, Mitsubishi Electric will continue collaborating with other companies as well to further enhance its smart-manufacturing solutions with innovative technologies.

About Realtime Robotics

Company name	Realtime Robotics, Inc.
CEO	Peter Howard
Location	27-43 Wormwood St, Suite 110, Boston, MA 02210, USA
Establishment	March, 2016
Business	Development of dedicated processors and software based on motion-planning technologies for industrial robots and autonomous vehicles.
URL	http://rtr.ai/

Background

As workforces decline and labor costs rise in various markets worldwide, the importance and necessity of industrial robot systems continues to grow. Mitsubishi Electric is already meeting needs in such markets with its MELFA series of industrial robot systems, which deploy a high-speed, high-accuracy pick-and-place control solution based on vision capability, force sensors and Maisart^®*² AI technology. Industrial customers are now using the solution to supplement their limited human resources with advanced robot systems.