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.”