Apptronik Launches Industrial Automation Spinoff, Elevate Robotics

Apptronik Tuesday announced the launch of Elevate Robotics Inc, a new subsidiary aimed at “automating industrial tasks beyond the limits of the human form.” Plus One Robotics cofounder, Paul Hvass, has been named CEO of the sub-brand.

“Last year I joined Apptronik to put my energy and focus into the Apptronik mission of building Robots for Humans,” the executive notes on LinkedIn. “Fast forward to today: I am elated to be leading a team of robotics engineering wizards that has spun off from Apptronik.”

What, precisely, technology looks like “beyond the limits of the human form” remains a bit squishy, at the moment, though a new Elevate site promises advances in mobile manipulation, “offering capabilities far beyond anything available on the market currently. Our superhuman robots will go bigger, faster, and stronger using novel technologies born from humanoid development.”

The phrases “super-human” and “super-humanoid” have gained a lot of heat of late. This morning, I wrote up a new mobile manipulator with “super-human” capabilities, according to Brightpick. A few months back, Dexterity began to refer to its new dual-arm Mech robot as “the world’s first industrial superhumanoid.”

The sentiment of moving beyond the human form makes plenty of sense from a Brightpick or a Dexterity, but what about Apptronik, whose primary product is the humanoid robot, Apollo?

“Superhuman” has always been a goal, of course, but even approaching human-level functionality has proven extremely challenging for so many of the industry’s top names. For now, Apptronik’s larger focus is bringing Apollo into industrial settings over the next few years.

In the meantime, Elevate will focus on what the next step of industrial evolution might look like. Hvass tellingly cited Apptronik's origins in research at the University of Texas, which may be more in line with the work the new spinoff is planning. The company certainly has the money to explore such avenues, following a  $415 million Series A announced in February.