The agreement was brokered by Frontier IP, the University’s commercialisation partner, and is the latest partnership between one of its spinout companies and Bosch.
In April last year, Pulsiv Solar signed an agreement to optimise the design of its solar micro-inverter prototype, meaning that when the prototype moves into full-scale production, it will be able to market the devices as 'Engineered by Bosch'.
Fieldwork is using the £298,000 raised in a January funding round, which valued the business at more than £5million, to accelerate development and scale-up of its robotic technology.
Work to date has been supported by a £547,250 Innovate UK grant, as part of a £671,484 project to develop the multi-armed robot prototype. Other partners in the project included the University of Plymouth and the National Physical Laboratory.
Neil Crabb, Frontier IP Chief Executive Officer, said:
“Industry engagement is a vital part of validating the commercial viability of new technology, so we are delighted to be extending our relationship with Bosch UK. They have provided invaluable support for our work with Pulsiv in optimising its solar microinverter for manufacturability. Agricultural automation is a long-term trend, but one which has been thrown into sharp relief recently from the impact on human labour of COVID-19, demonstrating the potential value of Fieldwork’s technology. We are very much looking forward to working with Bosch UK on this project.”
